Echizen's New Rival
by Himeru-chan
Summary: Rei Smith was invited by Coach Ryuzaki to play practice matches against the regulars but instead decided to play for real against Seigaku's number 1, Echizen for something he became interested with lately, Sakuno Ryuzaki RyoxSakuxRei
1. Chapter 1

**Prince ****Of**** Tennis ****Fanfiction**

**By: ****Himeru****-Chan**

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"What's the matter Momo-sempai?" Ryoma asked with his usual cocky voice. His eyebrows met at the center after he recovered from being dragged out of his house when he bore his head from the little crack that the door made.

Apparently, Momoshiro came by like he promised although Ryoma really did not expect him to come and show up until later this afternoon. He had that grin on his face and his excitement was bursting everywhere that it almost affected him. But aside from that, his face reflected apology.

He started scratching his head and his mouth formed a slight apologetic smirk before he spoke again. "Well I just couldn't wait! I just can't..." Ryoma's eyes scanned his sempai for a while before reacting again. He liked what he wore- that white shirt with a Fila logo imprinted on the back. He wanted to match it with his white cap and shoes that he bought when he was still in the United States. "Where did he get that?" he thought, his brows meeting up again.

Momoshiro frowned and slowly backed away when he saw his kouhai observing his body for a while now. "W-well… I told you before right? Today's the sale of the new series of rubber shoes from the usual store..."

Echizen gave up and sighed. His sempai smiles were bright and his movements were large that it snapped the tennis prince back to his senses. "All right then. I'll just go and get ready..." he said, pursuing the trail back to his house. Momoshiro waved an ok sign and waited outside with a smile. "Shoes... shoes..." he sang.

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"I forgot what grandmother said..." Sakuno's voice reflected her worries. She needed a new grip tape for her racket but she forgot what her grandmother advised her to get. "Maybe this one?" she asked herself not really expecting an answer. There were five different grip tapes in front of her and all of it ranged from dark to light. There were also some distinguishing numbers in it that were alien to her, making it seem like everything is the same.

She tried thinking of the difference but the only thing that she could make out was how it resembled to that of Ryoma's. She wanted to buy the darker one since it seems more professional and more, Ryoma-like, well, which is out of the case. She sighed and looked around to seek for a spontaneous advice.

"If Ryoma was here, what would he say?" Sakuno flushed but then gave up almost immediately, frowning for being stupid. "As if I had the courage to ask anyway," she added. She scanned the almost empty store. The manager was by the counter, immersed in reading the newspaper, which he has been doing for a while. She blushed, afraid to disturb and ask for his opinion.

She looked at the tape that was on her right hand. She thought that it'll not _really _be a waste if she bought something that looked like Ryoma's. With another sigh, she walked towards the counter and as she did though, she caught a glimpse of a presence at the far end corner of the store. From the looks of it, he was a no doubt tennis player. He had a tennis bag that hung on his right shoulder, his extensor muscles on the feet were muscular and he had an aura of sharpness and a cap on just like Echizen. He was looking for wristbands that were on sale. Sakuno looked more closely and felt as if she had seen the man somewhere.

"Echizen?" she said lowly, her voice unsure. She did not really intend to grab the man's attention but unfortunately for her, failed. The man looked back and faced Sakuno. His hands were on the sides of his jacket and his eyes neatly fixed at her very soul. He looked a lot like Echizen but he wasn't the tennis prince from Seigaku. He looked more like a foreigner- yes, his eyes were emerald with a single streak of silver highlights accentuating his hair. Sakuno blushed at the sight. He looked like a prince dressed in commoner's clothes- royal jacket with white strips on the side and some dark knee length shorts, paired with ebony black rubber shoes.

_"Excuse me?"_ the boy said in English. Sakuno was taken aback. She only knew a few lines of English and she couldn't even remember a single one when she needed it the most. Though she understood what he just said (since it was simple and all), she was embarrassed to reply in return, thinking how she failed her English last semester because of her stupid pronunciations. (Though she was now trying her best to study it again)

Sakuno politely bowed and took courage to use one of the phrases she has been studying for some time now. _"I'm sorry, I made a mistake..."_ She blindly blinked her eyes off his soft piercing gaze and tried to flash an innocent smile. Unbeknownst to her, a smile crept in the prince's face. He approached the girl and stopped close enough to place a hand on her shoulders.

"Daijobu, heki-desu..." he said in synch to the girl's comfort.

"You speak Japanese?" Sakuno's eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help herself asking a straightforward question. The other didn't reply and just issued her that next-door smile as he walked past her and unto the other side of the room where she was in previously.

She just sighed in relief and scolded herself for getting in such an embarrassing mess. She pushed herself forward and rushed towards the counter, trying to search for her wallet from her bear pouch that was hanging down on her body. "Ex-" Sakuno stopped when she felt a hand lightly grabbing her elbow.

"Take this, it's much more comfortable for your delicate hands..." he said with a grin. Sakuno looked down at his offering hand and saw a lighter colored tape that was on the rack earlier. She got the tape out from his hand and she examined it carefully. Only when she got the tape did she realize the words her grandmother said before she came to the store to buy some tape.

"This is what grandma said... why didn't I think of it?" she asked with a happy smile. But of course, how can she think when all she thought about when choosing was the arrogant prince of Seigaku.

"Thank you very much..." she said, expecting him to introduce himself. The other, noticing the hint took seconds before he stated his name. "Oh, _Rei__ Smith_," he said with a cool look imprinted on his face. Sakuno blushed and looked away, swallowing hard.

"He's really cute," she thought as she bit her lip. If she'd count it, this was her first friendly encounter with a man in 6 months, and she was never that friendly with other guys except the Seigaku regulars and others from the different teams. "R-R-Ryuzaki Sakuno-desu..." she said after recovering from the shock. "Sakuno? Ryuzaki?" he echoed. His eyes were as big as that of a curious kid discovering something.

"I see..." He said with a sarcastic smile. He looked at her, surveyed her very form from top to bottom until she was uncomfortable enough to shift her attention to pay for the tape- after which, she bowed and said goodbye before walking away to exit the store. He didn't move an inch even after she was finished but after Sakuno went and tried to exit from the store, he followed her as fast as he could.

"Sakuno-chan..." he said, grabbing her lightly on her free hand. "Wha-what is it?" she asked, forcing a smile on her flushed face. _"I like you..."_ he said in english after planting a suave kiss on her virgin cheeks- the surge of blood towards her face were witnessed by two men she never imagined, wanted to see. "Ryuzaki?" the voice called. Sakuno glanced sideways and saw Momoshiro and Echizen, looking somehow astounded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Echizen's New Rival**

By Himeru-chan

AU: Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate it a lot

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Chapter 2 :

**That Heavy Feeling **

Sakuno couldn't speak. Her face was pale as she undergoes a state of immediate mental shock. She was unable to process anything and for some time, she didn't know how she looked like as she stared at that one smiling face that's in front of her. She just couldn't discern why he did that. Why would he? Why she? She's usually a nobody to anyone and rarely do people try and approach her as a girl. Even the great Echizen only regards her as a cheerleader and granddaughter of her father's coach and here he comes, a complete stranger changing everything too easily. Way too easily that it becomes too surreal. "Sakuno-chan, I'll see you around." the soft smile imprinted on his prince-like face returned the girl to reality. "Wai-…" her mouth formed the words but no voice came out. She blushed as she tightly clutched the paper bag that she embraced in her arms. It was her first kiss after all (even if it was on the cheeks) and even if she didn't know the meaning behind the English phrase that he said before he kissed her, the action itself tells her that it was not something as bad.

"Way to go Ryuzaki-san!" Momoshiro shouted, startling Sakuno out of her world and at the same time, making her remember that they both saw what happened. "Youth is really impressive isn't it?" the man nodded while the girl shook her head eminently. "Mo-Momo-sempai," the girl blushed. "Chigau yo! It wasn't like that at all…" Sakuno said as if she pleaded both of them to believe in her. "Ite- ite, you don't have to hide it. We saw everything, right Echizen?" he said elbowing the boy on his shoulder. Sakuno held on once again at the paper bag. She felt that she needed support when she looks at "the Ryoma Echizen" and the crackling sound the paper made as she crumpled it in her almost shaking hand gave her just that. After all, Sakuno wanted to know if Ryoma too shared the same idea that their sempai has but he only flashed that straight face he usually have and gave her no hints at all. What did she expect? She knows that he didn't see her more than the grandchild of their coach.

_He was in love with tennis more than anything._

"Tennis more than anything…" she repeated as she watched him calmly drinking his usual can of Ponta, staring at her very form as if he didn't care. He was quiet for awhile when he brought down the empty can away from his face and threw it at a nearby thrash can.

"You don't have to be reserved you know…" he finally said. Sakuno was taken aback and became silent. "I don't have to be reserved?" Sakuno echoed in a low voice. Ryoma didn't repeat what he said but he did nod once to confirm. Sakuno knew and made preparations to hear something like this but it was unexpectedly a heavy feeling and she didn't like it. "See? Well don't worry, we're not going to tell your grandmother about what happened…" he said waving a goodbye to the unsatisfied girl. "I shouldn't be reserved," she murmured again, forcing a smile on her saddened face. She walked away, down the same path Rei took and disappeared after her last bow.

"Oi, Echizen, what happened to her?" he asked when he noticed the change at the girl's movements when she walked away.

_"Saa…" Echizen gazed at the slowly disappearing figure of the girl from the distance before he closed his eyes and opened them once again as he entered the store._

"But that guy is a tennis player isn't he? He had a tennis bag with him," they both walked towards the shoe section of the store and began to scan every single shoe that was on display. There were many designs on and Momoshiro felt his eyes produced several sparkling effects at every pair. Meanwhile, Echizen was awfully quiet as he looked at the designs on display. Taking that as a hint, Momoshiro laughed evilly and strangled the boy with his strong arms. "Oi- Echizen, don't tell me you're jealous…" he teased. Surprised, Ryoma just sighed and freed himself out of the guy's arms to crouch down the floor.

"Why would I be?" He was engrossed at the shoe he just spotted below that he didn't look back when he replied. He got the blue-black colored combination design from the rack and flipped it over for some time as if he examined every part and design that it had. Momoshiro on the other hand just looked at the uninterested boy in front of him and decided to sigh it all away to join him in scanning the shoe that he got. "Woah, man that's nice!" he exclaimed. Ryoma gave way when Momoshiro grabbed it away from his hands. He didn't feel like arguing the child mode of Momoshiro. He sighed again as he stood up. He looked back at the previous spot where Sakuno was and felt like something he did made everything awfully wrong. 

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As much as possible i want to stick to the original echizen but it's really quite hard hurting Sakuno the way he did.  



	3. Chapter 3

**Echizen's New Rival**

By: Himeru-chan

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for the two day late update. The Holy Week kept me away from all the technology but of course I had written the continuation in a paper so expect a continuous update. I'm also sorry for the format. When i look at it, yeah, you guys are right. It hurts my eyes too :)

So I'll change it starting from this point on

Thank you for pointing out the suggestions! I'll try my best to finish it soon since I'll be very busy in the coming week.

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Chapter 3:

**The New Border**

"I'm home," Sakuno shouted lamely when she arrived at the receiving area of the house. She was still sad but figured that it was just like Ryoma to say that kind of insensitive thing so fretting more is just putting her self more to a life-filled misery. She sighed. She lost once again to loneliness.

_**-BAM-**_

"Ouch." Sakuno winced as she fell down the floor. She didn't see the large bag that was in the way and some of the boxes that decorated the sides of the floor. She didn't get hurt though. Instead she found the bags really strange since she didn't remember anything blocking the path when she left the house that morning to buy some grip-tapes at the store.

"Obaa-chan? Are you going somewhere?" she asked in a loud voice. She was still in the floor looking at the things that blocked the doorway. _"Is this even ours?" _she asked herself noticing the unfamiliarity of the bags that were on the floor.

"I don't think she's going somewhere until tomorrow," a voice replied to her question. The voice was male and the last she remembered, there was no male around here since last year, when her father together with her mother went abroad for their work. She spun around and she can't believe that the voice belonged to the same guy that she met earlier that morning. He was squatted down the floor, looking at her with such gentle eyes.

"Are you hurt?" he asked but she didn't reply. Her face was the same clueless face that she had when he first kissed her and when she didn't answer for some time, Rei laughed weakly. He found her really cute, looking at him like a child.

"Um, I'll be living with you for some time," he started. "Those are my things and I apologize if it caused you to fall down. I didn't know where else to put them so, here…" he explained diligently, stretching his hand out at the same time to help her up. Sakuno blinked at the offered hand and immediately tried to suppress all thoughts that kept her down, thinking in the floor. She humbly accepted it and stood up with a bow of thanks.

"But i still don't understand," she said finally up. She didn't look at the him but instead tried her best to fix her gaze at her clothes and act as if she was brushing some dust off her skirt. She was embarrassed that someone other than Tomoka and her grandmother saw her clumsily fall down the floor.

"Oh? But I thought your grandmother told you that I was coming?" he asked, confused. "Did she forget?" he added.

_Did she? _Sakuno asked herself. _  
_

"I'm sure I told her yesterday evening…" Coach Ryuzaki said. She flashed a smile with a frown that seemed all natural to her. She was at the doorway, leaning at the wall, looking at what happened.

"She even nodded so I'm wondering how she can forget something important…" Sakuno blushed fervently when she remembered. It was because last night she was thinking about Ryoma and the color of his grip-tape. She wanted the same color, the same style and the same type that she didn't exactly grasped what her grandmother told her last night but at least she remembered that her grandmother told her something.

"But really, how can you fall down at your own house?" she asked with sarcasm in her voice. It was the girl's time to frown. "Mou. Sorry for being clumsy…" Sakuno said, being bitter. Coach Ryuzaki almost laughed but didn't and she asked them to follow her inside the living room.

"Well, it's really my fault. I'm really sorry Sakuno-chan…" he whispered. Sakuno blinked but shook her head. "Not really, I'm just a bit clumsy…" she answered. Rei just smiled and made her feel that it wasn't like that at all- his eyes that was gently placed on her own made her feel comfortable and at ease.

After that afternoon, Coach Ryuzaki and Sakuno helped Rei move his things at the guestroom downstairs, it was almost evening when they finished. Sakuno took a bath and went downstairs like her grandmother wanted her too. Her hair wasn't in the usual braided pig-tails and since it was somehow wet, she let her hair down. Such a small difference made her look entirely different- she looked more mature, more beautiful and much more attractive. (Only if Ryoma could see her now, would he be able to state the difference?)

"Grandma…" she said as she entered the room. Rei was sitting across Sakuno's grandmother and his eyes looked surprise when she entered. "Oh, Sakuno just in time…" she said.

"Sorry for being late…" she replied as she walked towards the empty seat beside Rei but for him, though, it looked as if she floated towards it.

"You look beautiful with your hair down…" he complimented with a smile. Sakuno blushed but she didn't look back at Rei. The man somehow figured that Sakuno is a delicate and the shy-type so he just hid the satisfaction to himself when he saw her became flustered.

"I didn't get to introduce you properly. Anyways, Sakuno, this is Rei Smith. He's the son of one of my best friends who now lives in Europe. He's older by one year and he championed the World Tennis Competition, it's one of the tennis competitions there that equals the prestige of Wimbledon." Sakuno wide eyed, gasped and immediately looked at Rei who humbly accepted the honor to be placed side by side with Wimbledon.

"I'm still not accustomed to be called a champion." he laughed weakly and asked Coach not to mention about it anymore. "Well, it was a hard competition, I had to prepare big time for it. I didn't even think I'd be able to win that last set…" he shared.

"And that was a very sensational set; he won by one point against his competitor." Coach Ryuzaki shared to her granddaughter. "Then he's here because of tennis?" she asked her grandmother who responded with a nod.

"But of course! We have a training camp before the national arrives so I thought of having him around for some practice matches with the regulars and since he wanted to know the players of Seigaku, he agreed."

"I see. That's really great. Obaa-chan." She said with a smile. Sakuno felt happy since their members can have a practice match with a well known WTC champion.

"Anyways, I thought you'll recognize him right away. We were talking about how you met at the store." The word store brought back the memories of what happened earlier that morning. _What did he say? Does grandma know?_ She asked herself curiously. She swallowed hard and forced a smile before she answer with a straight voice.

"H-how can I recognize him? I haven't met him before, even though he's a tennis champion..." she replied, almost eating up her own words.

"Oh but Sakuno, you have his poster up at your wall…" Sakuno blinked and tried to analyze what her grandmother said. _I have a poster of him up my room? _She asked herself. Why would she have a champion in her room?

"But I don't remember…" She tried hard to imagine her room and was taken aback after that brief moment of reflection. "Don't tell me it's him in that poster I bought the other week?!" Her grandmother nodded without reserve as if she ought to have her grandchild know about it. "You didn't know?" Sakuno shook his head.

"I even thought I'd surprise you and bring him here personally." Sakuno couldn't speak. It was too much of a coincidence but she felt a little satisfied after hearing that. "That's why I feel he look a little familiar…" Other than the same aura of Seigaku's tennis prince, she posted a WTC champion, without knowing it, in her room for a week hoping that she'd get inspired to play tennis.

"I-I just bought that indiscriminately because I wanted to have a motivation to continue tennis…" True in some parts but the other reason that she chose that particular poster among the rest is because of the closeness of Ryoma's and Rei's age to one another- that Ryoma had the possibility of being printed in a poster himself. (As if he'd want his face to appear in every of his fan's home)

She covered her mouth after realizing what she had said. _That she'd have the motivation to continue tennis? _Didn't Echizen first provide her that? Why did she need another inspiration? She wondered more even if she somehow knew the answer to that.

"And did it give you just that?" Rei asked.

Sakuno became flustered with the sudden question but she nodded to answer that one. _"Well it did."_ She said in defense. Rei look at his hand and gazed at Sakuno's reddened face that she consciously hid by looking away.

"Do you want an autograph or something?" he teased. Rei remembered the time when he was back in Europe, many people endlessly gathered around him, asking him to sign them his autograph. Did they even watched him play tennis or were they all gathering up on him because he looked like someone pulled out from a fairytale book? But Rei figured that Sakuno was different from the rest- For one, he felt good that someone did not know him or scream at his face the moment they knew.

Sakuno just playfully hit Rei by his shoulder in response. "I was joking…" he laughed. "Oh since the practice match will be held after the training, I can teach you some tennis at the first few days on the camp." He added completely changing the subject.

"That'll be great." She smiled at the bottom of her heart. She was comfortable with him. He was really nice, sensitive and acted gentle in everything he did. "A real opposite of Ryoma," she murmured. She smiled at the thought of that.

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RCS is open to everyone so if you feel like doing one, please don't hesitate.

Reviews, Comment, Suggestion


	4. Chapter 4

**Echizen's New Rival**

By: Himeru-chan

Ok, another chapter up! Thank you for the reviews!

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Chapter 4:

**The Second Time  
**

"I'll be there in a moment!" Sakuno shouted when her grandmother called out her name. She was the last one to finish packing up her things which she could have done last night but wasn't able to because she spent her time figuring how Rei could strike a beautiful pose in serving a tennis ball.

Looking at it for some time, she realized that the poster didn't show much the real Rei. In it, he looked mysterious and powerful and marvelous all at the same time that before she can even put all the many facts together, she found herself waking up at the sound of her alarm clock. Before she stood up though, she reflected that tennis can change someone so gentle to a warrior in the battlefield. "Yet another unreachable person." She said to herself being reminded of a more mysterious person.

"You look tired. Did you sleep well last night?" Sakuno looked up at the sudden appearance of Rei but she managed to lie by shaking her head. She can't imagine herself admitting that she gazed at his picture for the nth time last night. Rei didn't buy her reason though since the evidence was very much present in her tired face, but he just decided to let it go.

"I'm fine, thank you very much." She said shouldering her bag, leading the way out of the house.

Her hair was tied in a pony and she had white small earrings. She wore a pink shirt with a pair of poring wings printed at the back and some mini shorts which she didn't mind to be dressed in. It was summer. It was hot as a desert in day and that's why she can wear something revealing without anyone questioning her modesty.

"Sakuno, let me carry your things…" the girl spun around and looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I'm-" She could have said that it was okay but before she knew it, her bag was on his shoulders. "Girls shouldn't carry heavy luggage…" he smiled. Sakuno blushed but managed to say a thanks before they all board the vehicle.

They were on their way to Seishun Gakuen much earlier than the others so her grandmother could grab some things and papers that she left in the office. "So this is the school?" Rei asked trying to peek inside the quiet campus. Sakuno nodded a reply.

"Do you want to go inside?" She asked shyly. Her face looked unsure. She really had no idea how they were both going to deal with the waiting except for a tour around the grounds. Rei smiled since he knew but just nodded back since he too was interested with the famous Seisshun Gakuen that he had heard so much about, looked like.

Unlike the normal school days, the school is unusually quiet that it made the girl want the sound back so that she wouldn't have to be too nervous. "Is it small?" she decided to say something, not really thinking about what it was.

"Small?" he answered back with a question. He didn't have any idea what she was talking about but it wasn't that hard to guess.

"The school I mean, I heard there are large schools in Europe…" she explained. Rei fixed the straps of his tennis bag that he was carrying and looked around the spacious school.

"Oh, no not at all… There are some schools in Europe that are smaller than this one." He said. "Some don't even have tennis courts…" he added. He went on and on talking about the differences of the schools in Europe, about his school and Sakuno replied by introducing and defending the best qualities of the Japanese schools.

They both didn't realize that they were already in front of the tennis courts until Sakuno stopped and pointed at them. She too can't believe how she enjoyed talking to Rei. Maybe it was because it was her first time listening to a guy opening up so much to her.

"These are the tennis courts of Seigaku," she said with a smile. She don't know why but every time she's here, she can remember the times when Tezuka would ask the regulars to run laps around the grounds and the times when they were having ranking matches in those very grounds. These courts has a meaning now to her. At one time, it was just a court where people just hit some tennis balls but that all changed. She decided to take it up even if she wasn't really good at it, all because she admired how Ryoma Echizen played it.

_How he played it so well._

"Is something the matter?" Rei asked. He has been asking her for some time if she can play with him for some light rally but she was lost in her thought and didn't answer.

"But of course," she said scolding herself for thinking about Ryoma.

"You don't have to if you don't want to play, you can tell me…" Sakuno shook her head and got the racquet he was offering.

"I just can't promise to return the balls… I just suck at this," she explained. Rei laughed and got a ball out from his pocket.

"You will, and if you don't, I promise you that I won't leave Japan until you hit every serve I give you…" Sakuno blushed and nodded with a smile. _A light rally with a champion_, how she wished she can play seriously and good enough for him to use his true strength.

"Anyways, it's been long since I've seen a tennis court… It just makes me want to play." He said inviting Sakuno inside the court.

"Let's play a one set match then we can head back…" Rei said as he started to dribble the ball while playing with his racquet at the other hand like how Eiji smartly handles his racquet when he plays.

"Wai-wait…" Sakuno shouted. Rei stopped dribbling and checked if something was wrong. "What is it?" he said with concern. Sakuno blushed and decided not to look at him directly. "Can you show me one of your good serves?" she asked. Clueless about the reason why, Rei weakly laughed and smiled towards her, making her more uncomfortable that she asked.

"Oh, you mean like the one I did in the poster?" he teased. Sakuno became flustered since it was one of her intentions but the other that outranks that feeling is to know if he could serve better than Ryoma.

"I'm just joking…" he said when he started dribbling the ball again. "All right then," he said with a smile.When it was time, he gave Sakuno a signal and he threw the ball up high and the strings touched the ball like a normal serve but before she knew that he was finish serving, he had to call out to her. It all happened in a blink of an eye and she swore that it's like a wind passing you by.

"What happened?" she asked. He's bound to know since it was his own serve.

"Demon Ball. That's what I call that serve. The tennis ball travels far in a fast speed with a high-speed top spin that it leaves a rough v-mark when it bounds." he said with a smile. "That's what I used in the match that made it all sensational. The curve landed near the end line that they had to debate if they would call it a point."

Sakuno was unable to speak for awhile as she observed the mark that the ball really left. "You're fantastic!" Sakuno praised. She never experienced being in a real battleground before but that one serve makes her apprehend the type of pressure their players go through especially when they fight with strong opponents from other schools. Her heart was still crazy and is still pressured with that one serve.

"Are you all right sakuno-chan?" he asked. "Ha-hai!" she answered timidly.

"Then I'll serve now…" he said. Rei served a ball again but this time Sakuno can clearly see the ball. She was able to volley it to the other side and was able to return all the balls that went to her court and for some time, they enjoyed playing tennis not as a serious battle but a fun activity.

"I thought you were a complete beginner but you do have it in you…" he said wiping a bead of sweat that ran down his forehead. "That was a nice warm-up, arigatou Sakuno-chan." he said with a smile, returning the racquets back to the bag where it belonged. Sakuno returned the smile and laughed a little.

"Not really… I didn't do much but hit it back to your side…" Sakuno smiled passionately. Her eyes told him that she enjoyed playing tennis and that attracted him more towards her. It made him move towards her uncontrollably and kneel like a knight in front of her. Unable to decide himself, he caressed the hair that fell down her face and place a kiss upon its strands. "You were really great…" he finally said. Sakuno, surprised by his sudden actions went blank again. She was there kneeling in front of a gorgeous individual, trying to comprehend what his actions meant. This was the second time but she didn't feel any remorse or hate towards him who has been casually getting physical with her. In fact she didn't mind but she still felt that she didn't want anyone to see this especially Ryoma. It was because in her heart still lingers the hope for her true knight.

"L-let's go," Sakuno offered, refusing to look at the boy directly. The prince just smiled and enjoyed the sight of the blushing Sakuno before he too took a step to follow the girl towards the entrance of the school.When they both heard the sound of commotion in front of the school, they decided to hurry up a bit to avoid delay. But what if they stood still for a moment more, will they be able to hear the tiny, unrecognizable sound of an empty can of Ponta hitting the trash can that also shared an echo in the quietness of the school? Maybe not.

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Another upload. It's all been Rei you say? (Talking to myself) But Ryoma's here too and coming in the next chapter. GO ECHIZEN! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Echizen's New Rival**

By: Himeru-chan

Thank you for reviewing! That's like my fuel for continuing the story.

I'm sorry but I just had to revise the whole chapter due to mistakes and some thoughts that I have left hanging. In this version, I think it'll do for the chapter. Sorry for those who read it already but the ending and content is still the same.

I just changed back Ryoma to who he really was since in the unrevised version, he was un-Ryoma-like. THANKS!

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**_REVISED _**

Chapter 5

**Foreseen Love Duel at the Camp**

"Oi! Ryuzaki's here…" Momoshiro shouted, calling her name out the second after. It caused the other members to look towards their direction and also wave a hand to acknowledge the both of them.

"Gomenasai, we're late…" she said when they both arrived. She bowed apologetically towards her upper-class men who didn't really mind since they were still incomplete. The girl was also surprised when, Rei who was beside her at that time, also bowed down in imitation considering that he had lived all his life in a tradition very much different from the Japanese.

"Heki- heki, there's always someone who comes in later than all of us after all." Eiji said, putting a hand on Sakuno's shoulder which was joined by a wink to assure her that it was all okay. Sakuno was taken aback and asked, "Is Ryoma not here yet?" She surveyed the immediate vicinity to look for a particular tennis prince.

Fuji who was across Sakuno shook his head and smiled, "Maybe he helped an old lady cross the street," He said with a serious face that made the others follow a laugh.

Sakuno chuckled but then she began to take notice that everyone was wearing their own set of casual clothes. It was good for a change since she always see the blue and white jersey on her sempai's.

The genius tennis prodigy is in his usual white, collared 3/4ths and dark gray pants and Eiji is in his knee-length shorts and a black-orange t-shirt that he was proud of. (Well it's because he had a picture with the chocolates in that shirt). Kawamura who was busily entertaining Inui had knee-length shorts too and a white shirt on top with a sushi design in the front.

"Anyways, there's still fifteen minutes more to go so we don't need to worry." Oishi said contradicting his own self for the truth showed clearly that his face is misshapen with worry even after plastering a smile over it. The vice-captain himself wore a white shirt with a tennis logo in the front and some gray pants while Captain Tezuka who kept silent all the while is wearing a gray collared shirt and dark pants.

Momoshiro sighed. He grew silent as soon as Sakuno and the man beside her arrived. He knew he'd seen him somewhere but he just can't remember where. 'At the tennis alley perhaps?' he thought.

When the man seized another good look before he gave up, that's when he saw the same peculiar looking tennis bag that he had seen yesterday on his shoulder. "Hey, you're Sakuno's boyfriend!" Momo said in a shout of surprise finally remembering who the man was.

Sakuno almost choked to death when heard that remark. She remembered that she wasn't able to clarify things that happened yesterday because she was too upset to defend herself.

"Boyfriend?" Rei asked looking at Sakuno for confirmation. The girl had wide eyes, the widest he had seen so far and she looked a bit troubled. He could almost see her shrinking from the embarrassment but found it attractive rather than a bother.

"Is that how she introduced me?" he asked kindly, almost teasing.

"Oh, Ryuzaki has a boyfriend?" Eiji asked cheerfully. He bounced up and pats the girl's head like a cat. "That's good Ryuzaki-chan. you have a good looking boyfriend-nyaa…" Eiji added.

Oishi and the others laughed and Inui, with a sparkling new information at his fromt can't help but comment. "That's a new data I should write about…" he said, opening up his notebook and began scribbling some notes in it. Seeing that, Sakuno almost shouted in defense.

"Chi-chigau mou…" she said blocked. She anxiously shook her head in denial and looked at the regulars shyly.

"Well, that's odd since I really saw him kiss you yesterday…" Momoshiro added. He, realizing what he had just said, slapped his forehead when he forgot the promise he had made to the girl. Well, at least he shares the responsibility of keeping it a secret even to the other members of the tennis club.

"KI-KISS?" everyone simultaneously said that even Tezuka who was there at the corner began to show some signs that he was interested in the topic. (But he could have wished they would lower their voices down since it was echoing so much in the silent school)

"That's… that's…" Sakuno flinched. Everyone was looking at her waiting for a reply. She never attracted this much attention before so she wasn't sure how to get away with it without her answering. That said, she didn't even know what to say. Even she wasn't clear about it.

"_It was a friendly kiss_." Rei started.

He said that with the intention of rescuing her from the prying eyes of her upper-class men. "It's normal in Europe but I forgot that I'm already in Japan. I hope she's not bothered by it though…" He explained.

Then everything just fell in place: EVERYTHING. She smiled a little knowing that what he meant by all those actions that made her heart race is just an act of friendliness in the European culture. At least she was gullible enough to believe in that reason.

" Europe? Yeah, you do look a bit on the foreign side," Fuji mentioned.

Getting this point as a hint, Sakuno immediately introduced the man beside her so she wouldn't get pick on too much. "This is Rei Smith. He came from Europe and he won the World Tennis Championship there and he is now here to help with Seigaku's practice matches. Obaa-chan invited him here." She explained. She was really thankful that Rei was able to make a comment that made her able to divert their attention back into tennis.

"_Nice to meet you everyone"_

He said in English.

Everyone fell silent for awhile after hearing the WTC. They were tennis players and it would really make them ignorant if they didn't know anything about it. Such a prestigious event like that couldn't have missed their ears.

"The World Tennis Championships you say? That same Smith?" Inui asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. He knew he had seen that face somewhere but he didn't expect a champion to be in Japan and more so to be helping them with their practice matches; take note, a junior-high's practice matches.

"Our coach surely has some connections…" Inui said, noting what he had discovered. 'I better get his autograph,' he smiled wickedly planning a series of activity and new schedule for the training camp.

"Rei-kun, this is my sempai, Kunimitsu Tezuka. He's the captain of Seigaku Tennis Club." Tezuka flinched a little after hearing his name but was calm the second after when he approached the boy who was as tall as their Echizen.

"It's nice to meet you Rei. I'm Tezuka- and as she said, the captain of Seigaku Tennis Club" he reached out a hand for a shake which Rei immediately accepted.

"So he's the same Tezuka that I've heard so much about from Coach Ryuzaki." He murmured. He had a very dignified aura that it made Rei felt a bit honored to finally meet the Coach's vigilant captain. "I'm looking forward to have a practice match with you, Kunimitsu-Buuchou…" he said. Tezuka nods his head and accepted the same position as him.

Sakuno didn't stop there since she began introducing everyone to Rei who had different reactions towards meeting a champion. Eiji stared at his face and tried to figure out the sense of the champion, Kaidoh had his eyebrows crossed and exhaled a snake-like hiss making Rei back down a little before accepting his hand, and Oishii felt a wind of disbelief when he finished a handshake with the man.

"This is really a surprise from obaa-chan, i'm getting excited..." Momoshiro exclaimed grabbing everyone's attention. "Yeah, you're right..." Fuji agreed. "But, it's a pity to not have Echizen introduced first. He'd be really fired up meeting strong opponents like you since he's a tough one too if I say so myself." Fuji explained.

"Yeah, you might have heard of him since he's the youngest individual to participate in the US Open." Kawamura added proudly.

"Echizen Ryoma? I've heard of him before. So he really goes in this school…" Rei tried to clarified, seemingly interested at the sound of his name. Sakuno nodded and smiled, "He's in first year like me, but he's not here yet. I really hope he's fine though..." her voice trailed off in the last part of the sentence but it was not impossible for Rei to hear it. He just looked at her, his thoughts impossible to read.

Oishi on the other hand began to look again at the far ends of the streets after hearing the name of their little freshman. He was concerned that they might leave Echizen out again in the trip for being late, which was not impossible especially when Tezuka made that decision again. He surely didn't want that to happen.

"I hope nothing bad happened to him," he added remembering his accident just a while back. "Mou, Oishi-kun, you don't have to worry that much. He's all right…" Eiji explained- his arms placed at the back of his head. "If it's him, I'm sure he's-"

_"Chiz..." _

**_Gah! _**Eiji shouted in surprise. The others look at Eiji who also wondered what happened to him. "Woah, it's only Ochiba-chan-nyaa… I thought something scary was at my back," Eiji explained with a weak laugh. He stood up and fixed himself up, patting Echizen on the back.

"Oi, Echizen, you're late again! Burning!!" Kawamura shouted when Fuji handed him a racquet for a little scolding.

"Gomen..." he plainly said.

"But why did you come from inside the school?" Oishi asked.

Ryoma was taken aback. He didn't look like he was going to explain for another second when he looked up but when he found Sakuno's face beside him, he tried to cover his now darkened face with a cap before he spoke. "I left something at the club room so I entered the back gate of the school. I saw Ryuzaki-baa-chan and she told me to tell Buchou that we can go up already…" he replied.

Tezuka who was digging far much deeper than that decided to ask one more question. "What took you so long? You should have been here fifteen minutes earlier…" Tezuka asserted.

Echizen slightly flinched but regained his stance by faking a cough. "Well," everyone looked at him. "Well, I tried to help some old lady cross the pedestrian on my way here..." he finally said, covering his lying face deeper with his cap. As if that would work twice, everyone simultaneously said, "Liar" and laughed all together.

"Well, I'm glad Echizen's here. Let's board the bus and wait for Ryuzaki-sensei…" Oishi said happily. Tezuka agreed and asked everyone to carry their things and board the bus. Everyone did as told but Echizen stood still for a moment more trying to wait for all his sempai's to board the bus first and since the path was still crowded, he tried stretching his arms and legs first because he was getting a bit sleepy.

The tennis prince looked listless but he's cool face seemed independent. He showed some signs that he was somehow bothered by something and he keep on sighing every after the next moment Sakuno steals a look.

"Daijobu, Ryoma-kun?" She asked. She was not used to see an "out-of-it Ryoma" early in the morning and of course she was really concerned about it. Echizen on the other hand, slowly looked at the girl who stared at him with a worried face. She looked different, beautiful and mature. She still had long flowing hair tied at the back, her cheeks slightly flushed pink and her eyes batted at him in question. Ever since yesterday, she's been different just like how he found himself different- he's noticing something he wasn't able to notice for these past few months.

**Next Chapter Continuation **

Sorry for the new changes...  



	6. Continuation of 5

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**

_** Please read first... **_

Sorry for this fake update. I revised CHAPTER 5 since there were a lot of mistakes and i wasn't satisfied with it. I'm sorry for those who read it already but the flow is still the same. (I just completed the thought, deleted some silly things and did some Ryoma strengthening in this new one.) So **you can read the revised first before continuing**. Thanks for understanding.

* * *

Ryoma just kept silent when he looked at Sakuno with piercing eyes. At one moment, Echizen looked as if he wanted to say something but didn't. He would have wanted to say, "You have a long hair," or "You have too short shorts" or something that would somehow break the ice.

_"Is it just my imagination?"_ Sakuno asked herself noticing his strange behavior. He never looked at her before for such a long time without saying anything. "Ryo…" Sakuno started but the man cut her off before she could even finish his name.

"N-nothing's wrong." He snapped. His eyes widen for a moment but then he hid it roughly under his cap and he started walking beside Momoshiro who was two people behind from boarding the bus.

_Sakuno was taken aback. She never really knew that words can cut so deep._

"Oi," Rei called kindly. Sakuno looked back and saw Rei approached her from behind. He kindly got her hand from the side and held it on his own without saying anything. When she felt the need to question though, Sakuno looked up at him and only saw a smiling, comforting face that made her feel that holding her is still a friendly European tradition.

"I-I'm fine…" Sakuno whispered but Rei didn't listen. Instead, he pulled Sakuno as he approached Ryoma who once-in-a-while look at those intertwined hands beneath his cap.

"Ryoma Echizen I suppose…" he said. Echizen look up and met Rei's eyes who looked at him with a hint of contempt in it and only they, the 2 prince's noticed the sparks that suddenly began to fly past in between them.

"_I'm looking forward to our match. Ryoma"_ He said in english.

Sakuno didn't understand even if she tried to ask herself a million times but amongst those who were present and heard the remark, only Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi and Kawamura understood it very well for they became immensely interested with the tension that existed in between them from behind those glasses before they boarded.

"Then I'm looking forward to it _more_,"

Ryoma said with resolve in his voice. Something told him that he needed to beat him or else he could loose something that's been his for almost a year now.

"You haven't realized it yet, right?" Rei added, his European English made him look so intellectual as he stared at Ryoma pitifully. The tennis prince stared and didn't utter anything. He understood him since he was as fluent as he is in Japanese but he was mocked at the way he said it & the way he looked at him that he was silent, trying to figure him out.

"What are you talking about?" Ryoma asked in question. Rei grinned.

_"Your feelings Echizen. It's as important as Tennis. You should give it some thought too."_

He added, asking Sakuno to go on ahead before he goes up too.

Sakuno didn't know what they were talking about but one thing that convinced her to want and know it too is because of the change in Echizen's expression. It's like the feeling that he was seen through or mocked or that he became miserable all of a sudden.

---

"Oi, momo-chi, I somehow feel Ryoma's loosing to Rei-kun. We have to do something…" Eiji said with a frown. He too didn't want Ryoma just to win in Tennis but also win some hearts. He is his upper-class man after all.

"You're right, Eiji-sempai. He's been like that yesterday too…" Momoshiro said cupping his own face while he remembered the change in Ryoma all throughout the day yesterday. He thought that Echizen might have started to realize something after he saw the kiss but then he was not quite sure. But if it's the ochibi they are talking about, he was sure that he doesn't know what to do. After all he's been with tennis since he was young. He might not know how to approach or handle or relate himself together with a pretty girl like Sakuno. He wished to think of a plan but can't. Thinking was out of his league that's why he does everything in brute force. "We have to help him, we just have to…" he added.

Eiji jumped up when he saw Inui shooting some looks over Rei. If he's thinking right past the data tennis user, he would die for an interview with a champion. Seeing that as an opportunity, Eiji called Inui.

"Yoh, Inui-kun…" Eiji called out. The man innocently looked back and approached the two guys who had a cunning plan.

**-BUS-**

"Rei-san, you don't mind if I sit beside you right?" Inui asked, a grin almost on his face.

"I don't mind but…" Rei looked at Sakuno who instantly stood up to give way to his sempai.

"I-I don't really mind as well…" she said politely, grabbing her things from below.

'Thanks Ryuzaki-san..." Inui said, fixing his glasses that sparkled when the light reflected in it. "I-it's nothing..." she finally said though she did mind how Inui would force a good-hearted guy like Rei to divulge a little of himself to a tough Inui. "perhaps a little concoction?" she said entertaining herself with an answer. "nah, he wouldn't do that…." She said. Rei, feeling a little conspiracy behind it didn't object more. He just waved a hand as the girl disappeared at the back looking for a seat.

"Ryuzaki!" Momoshiro called. "There's a free seat here," he added, pointing at a seemingly empty seat beside Eiji and him. "Thank you sempai!" she called back and began weaving her way to the back. When she approached though, she saw Ryoma, seated comfortably with the cap covering his face.

"Ryo-ryoma…" she blushed and fell silent for a minute. Seeing him not reactive to her call, she decided to look for another seat. She can't possibly seat beside him. She just can't.

The tennis prince, behind that cap, opened his eyes after realizing the silly setup his upper class-men did but he just acted along. He somehow like the idea but didn't dare show it in his face.

"You should seat now before the bus moves," Ryoma suggested, offering her a hand in her luggage. His cap slightly pushed upwards for an eye to peek through where the girl was. Sakuno wanted to reject the offer but told herself that it was a chance so she accepted and took a seat. Rei isn't insensitive enough not to know the plan especially when he heard a little wooing at the back. He just smiled and got a book out of his bag and sighed.

'I'll give you a fair time, Ryoma. You better realize it before then…' he said.

When Coach Ryuzaki arrived. Everyone was comfortably seated in the bus and they went on to camp as planned.

The morning grazes over the bus as it went on towards its destination. The mild sunny day in the morning was still cool and the skies were as blue as ever. Inside the bus, everyone was quiet as they each own tried to catch some sleep. Sakuno wanted to do the same but she was beside Echizen and she didn't want him to see her sleeping face. 'Do I snore? Does my mouth hang open when I'm sleeping?' she was paranoid and tried her best to keep her eyes open. She wished she had enough sleep last night so she wouldn't be in this disposition but how was she to know that she's bound to seat beside her long admired tennis prince?

"Ryuzaki," Echizen called out. Sakuno snapped back to reality and looked at the man beside her. "Y-yes?" she answered promptly. Echizen was silent for a while as if he didn't know how to proceed.

"I'm sorry about earlier…" he said, refusing to look towards her direction. His voice was low but it was enough for Sakuno to hear. She couldn't believe it at first. Ryoma was apologizing! She was really touched so she smiled at him, "I don't mind anymore. You don't have to apologize…" she finally said.

"So you did mind when I snapped back at you?" he asked concerned, looking at Sakuno with his eyes full of question and anxiety.

"Ju-just, no I take it back, I didn't mind…" Sakuno replied. Ryoma didn't believe her though and his guilt began to eat his stomach out.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it," He finally said. It was the truth. He really didn't mean it. It sort of happened when he saw Rei approaching her from the back. In fact, he didn't know why he had to react that way but just the same, he hurt Sakuno's feelings.

The girl was now happy. She never heard Echizen apologize so sincerely that he has to sulk in that corner like a guilty child. She reached a hand on his cap and put it down on his face, instantly covering his eyes. Echizen, after raising his cap on a level that he can see, looked at Sakuno with questioning eyes. The girl just smiled, "I'm fine…"

Echizen felt his mouth switched into a smile but in reality, it didn't. Although knowing and seeing Sakuno smiling and saying that she was fine was enough for him- more than enough.

"Echizen," It was Sakuno's turn to call.

"What is it?" he answered back.

"Rei-kun, he's a great tennis player." Ryoma felt his face turn into a frown, his brows met at the center and thought, _'Why the hell is she saying that to me?' _

_"But Ryoma I believe that you're one of the best..." _She added. Echizen was taken aback, his heart flunctuated after he heard that from Sakuno. "Will you be alright?" she asked. Ryoma did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked outside and saw the few vehicles that pass through the same road and out to the trees that look up as the birds hover over them. But what got his attention more is not all those trivial things, but the reflection of a worried Sakuno in that transparent glass, making him crack a smile in that platonic face.

"I'll win." That's all he said making Sakuno smile as well as if the words were a wind of relief. She felt her eyes heavier and having no power left, she just closed them and lay to sleep. "You have to win… Ryo..."

Echizen felt a sudden weight touching his shoulder. When he looked back, he saw Sakuno with her eyes closed, sleeping soundly with a smile. The skin that damped on his own made his heart slightly jerk up and the rush of blood produced by his own heart made him feel uneasy. But looking at her, it felt like everything was right again. As if everything returned to normal. He too leaned his head onto Sakuno and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

So what do you think?


	7. Chapter 6

**Echizen's New Rival**

By: Himeru-chan

I'm sorry for the very late update! We were sent to the community in Nueva Ecija and we had our duty there non-stop.

For those who can't relate, it just means that I did not have any time to do the fan-fic.

**-laughs-**

**Alright, here's chapter 6**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Chance**

_-panting-_

"Oi Echizen you're being left out again!" Momo shouted. He still had that sadistic smile on his face and he had kept that twitch in his mouth ever since they were in the bus.

The tennis prince flushed when he remembered what happened a while ago- where that silly smile from Momo is pertaining to. He tried to shake it off his head but his mind doesn't listen to him. His brain-filled-with-tennis is now continuously hunting him with a scene he wished would stop now. He can't concentrate in the training and he's getting more and more confused.

Ryoma slapped his head lightly before he rushed as fast as he can to his sempai's side to frown at him, "Stop it already," he plainly ordered. He became disappointed when Momo just smiled at him. The man even got the Polaroid pictures from his pocket and showed it to the young shounen.

"I can't, not with pictures like this," The dunk master laughed and sprinted to join Eiji and the others to flaunt their treasures. Ryoma became flustered after seeing the pictures. "It was an accident, Echizen Ryoma." He said to himself. "No big deal…"

_**FLASHBACK:**_

The soft warm light coming from the sun outside slightly warmed the cold air that circulated inside the bus. The tennis prince and the princess at the back still had their eyes closed. They both had fallen asleep a while ago after that conversation they had.

_-flash-_

Echizen did not budge but felt that artificial light from behind his eyes and since it was a bother to move in that position, he just ignored it.

_-flash- -flash-_

The flashes of soft light could not have come from outside. It was too much uncomfortable that he had to pry open his eyes to see where those flashes were coming from.

As soon as he did, he saw two smiling men, taking pictures of both he and Sakuno. Ryoma flinched and immediately reacted by reaching for the camera, totally forgetting about Sakuno who was peacefully resting on his shoulder. Good thing, Ryoma had his left hand immediately stretched out to catch the girl's head in no time. (His fast reflexes came from his training in tennis)

"What are you doing?" Ryoma angrily asked in a whisper.

"Oh, come on Ryoma… It's alright. I got good pictures of you and Sakuno. Here, look!" Momo replied, also as softly as possible. Momo handed the picture to Ryoma and the tennis prince flushed. Sakuno was beautiful and the light from outside accentuated the beauty of the picture. They were both sleeping soundly under the soft orange light of the sun.

"I didn't know you that you were a photographer, momo-sempai…" Echizen unconsciously said while he admired the picture.

"That was just a fluke…" Eiji defended with a soft laugh.

"And ochibi-suke! Go back to the princess so we can take pictures of both of you!" he added while taking the pictures out of the prince's hand and shoving him back to his seat. The force of Eiji's push was joined by a swift right swerve by the bus causing the boy to be thrown out of balance.

"_**-Woah!"**_

_Echizen shouted_

After that display, he was now squatting in front of Sakuno, maintaining that one strong step that prevented him to fall down, flat on the floor. He heaved a sigh of relief. He almost fell down on the girl which he rather would not have happened. But as soon as he tried to stand up, he was surprised when the bus roughly halted to a brake, causing Echizen to be thrown forward in front of Sakuno.

_Ryoma's face met the girl's and their lips felt each other._

Everything happened so fast that the tennis prince couldn't even move- he was too shocked. He was kissing Sakuno, the coach's granddaughter, Seigaku's cheerleader and sometimes a companion and a student.

_-Flash-_

Seeing the bleak light brought him back to his senses and forced him self to move backward. He had his left hand cover his lips and the right clutched in to his chest. He just kissed Sakuno.

"But I never kissed anyone in my whole life before. th-that was just an accident…' Ryoma tried to rescue himself.

"I…"

_**-Yawn- **_

Sakuno yawned, Ryoma flinched.

The girl moved an inch or so but she kept still for a moment more before she opened her eyes. As she batted her eyes to get used to the light, Ryoma looked idly at her. 'What did I just do?' he asked himself. As the girl was started to come around, Ryoma immediately stood up and got his things from the upper compartment.

"Oi! Echizen!" Momo shouted.

"Where are you going, ochibi?" Eiji called as well.

"_**Down!**__" _

He got a glimpse of Sakuno who he assumed did not understand what happened or why he was throwing tantrums. He saw her brushing her eyes with her hands, exposing only the part where his lips had touched. He blushed again. His heart is beating the tune of excitement and…

He kept still. He can't put into words the other tune his heart was beating. It was new and fresh and it felt like he won a tennis match against a strong opponent. Deep inside him, he knew he heard a small voice, echoing down his chest.

"Love? It can't be…" he forced a smile but found it ridiculously unfunny- ridiculously not.

_**End of flashback **_

'_What should I do?' _Ryoma wanted to know badly. If he meets Sakuno along the way, would he be able to act like the cold and cool guy that he is or would he just shrink and blush while trying to pretend that it isn't much of a big deal? (Which certainly is not the case)

Only one thing is for sure, he won't be able to hide himself for a week from her.

"_This is not happening…"_

---

Sakuno wondered what got Ryoma walking away like that. He looked shocked and jolty when she found him looking at her with big eyes. He surely changed after that conversation.

"Wait… maybe I did something wrong?" Sakuno asked as her hand began to work away as she bats the eggs on a bowl.

"_-no…"_ a voice called out.

"But I don't remember doing anything…" her thoughts were loud enough for anyone a foot away from her could hear. "If I did, I should remember it…" she added.

"_-kuno…" _the voice called out again.

_**WAH! **_

_Sakuno shouted_

The other person who has been calling her out was taken aback and the shout made him take a step backwards.

"Maybe he heard me snoring or, or, maybe he saw me drooling or…" The girl tried her best to think of anything that might make the tennis prince look at her like some new found specie.

"Sakuno, I think I should tell you… It's really burning…" a hand reached out to turn the stove off when a thin black smoke started to puff out of the fish she was supposedly cooking. Another shout came out from the girl but this time it was shorter than the first.

Rei as usual, is smiling despite the big burnt fish that was now prepared in the plate. He had been calling her for a while but she was not responding.

"I'm really sorry, I'm really sorry…" she apologized but the other just laughed.

"You're quite funny when you're lost in thought. I don't really mind but you might burn our dinner if you keep it up…" he explained, trying to prepare another fish from beside her.

"Rei-kun… gomene," sakuno said, her spirits down from what happened.

"Don't mind, don't mind. Let's start again. I'll help you since I've done my share of cooking…" he said, pointing at the now clean pieces of plates that held raw food just a while back. They were already stacked up and gleaming with glory.

"Oh, you're quite fast…"

Sakuno couldn't help but admire the young man. He's a good tennis player, a major gentleman, a counselor and a friend of all friends. Sakuno almost can't believe that a man as flexible as he is in everything that he does, exist.

"Oh, my mother loves cooking. She was really disappointed when she had a son but I tried to learn everything and soon I came to love cooking as well…" he explained with a smile, he tried to cook the fish Sakuno was assigned to despite the small protests the girl was making.

"So you can really cook?" she confirmed once more. 'the champion knows how to cook?' she asked herself, almost laughing at that idea.

"Well, yeah, I'm deeply involved with tennis but I do have other hobbies like cooking." He smiled. He turned the fish upside down, revealing a golden brown color on the other side. The smell was fantastic though it was just a normal fish and the meat looks appetizing under that golden robe of his.

"Oh, the girl you're going to be ending up with is going to be really lucky…" Rei looked at Sakuno with raised brows. He smiled at the clueless girl beside him and looked back at the fish. He was spreading the oil that was already in the pan on top of the cooked part and he sprinkled some sort of sauce on top of it.

"I hope so…" he muttered under his breath.

---

Ryoma is walking down the hallways of the staff house. It was big and spacious that he could swing his racquet without hitting the pillars of the house, but he wasn't into tennis right now. He was upset.

The dinner could have been great only to find out that the ones who made it were Rei and Sakuno, alone in that kitchen together. Where are the 3 first years or that noisy Tomoka? They could have been around to supervise, but no, they're not here in this very training. They had to finish their summer assignments which Sakuno had long finished before this Summer Camp.

"Yoh," Rei called out. He was leaning on one of the pillars while he waited for the young man. Echizen totally ignored him but then he walked in front of him, completely blocking his way.

"That's harsh of you… I didn't even do anything…" Rei replied. He had a smirk on his face which deeply annoyed Ryoma. He brought down his can of Ponta to the side and gazed at the young man in front of him, scornfully.

"What do you want?" Ryoma started to speak. Rei was silent for a moment as he turned around, looking up at the sky. The moon was round and bright as it always had been even if he was in Europe.

"I'm proposing to Sakuno tomorrow." Ryoma flinched and even that slight jolt in his body could not hide very well from Rei's eyes. "You seemed shocked," Rei silently stated. Ryoma recovered immediately with a very promising frown in his face.

"Did you really wait for me just to tell me some nonsense?" It wasn't garbage at all, Ryoma thought. It was good that he knew his future actions but at the same time, he didn't like that info well. Rei just smiled and spoke again.

"I just thought I should tell you that I'm about to take all chances available." He replied almost challenging him into a duel.

"Chance?" Ryoma repeated as if he can't believe what he just heard.

"I'm not as bad as you think, Ryoma. I want you to know that if you win against me in tennis, I'll be going back to Europe without any complaints." Echizen flashed a grin instantly, confident that he could win against a WTC champion.

"Let's play right now so you'll be out of my sight…" he muttered under his breath but Rei heard that little comment and grinned.

"You're a little feisty aren't you?"

"Not really, I just don't like you."

Rei raised his hands up, admitting defeat to the prince's eminent coldness. Ryoma was surprised himself. He never acted like that before. _'Maybe I __**really**__ don't like him'_ he thought.

"All I mean is that when that time comes that you lose to me in a match consider this," Rei stopped, closing his eyes. Ryoma swallowed hard as he saw the change in Rei's gentle stare when he opened them again. The seriousness in it made him wonder who he really is.

"_Leave Sakuno alone."_

The man said in English

Ryoma was taken aback but came back afterwards with a smile.

"_Not gonna happen. I'll never lose…"_

He replied in the same tongue.

Rei almost laughed when he saw the prince's determination to win although right there and then, he felt that he would need a lot of preparation to see to it that he'll win their match.

"We'll see about that…"

With that, Rei walked away with a wave of goodbye, leaving Echizen sipping into his can of Ponta again. The tennis prince pranced around for awhile, looking at the brightness of the moon.

"There is no way I'm going to lose." He repeated to himself as he went back to his room. He felt that this training is not only for the nationals anymore. He wants to know whether or not he's better than anyone else, both in tennis and… other things.

* * *

I'm sorry for the late update but I'm trying to catch up for the lost time. Anyways, I'm seeing that there'll be only 3-4 chapters left so hold on.

**Please Review**. I hope the length is compensation enough. 


	8. Chapter 7

**Echizen's New Rival**

By: Himeru-chan

Well the plan of finishing this by April was disrupted. I really wanted to finish it by that month since my real name is April.

-Sigh-

It's been long since i updated, so let me hear your comments...

**_Thanks!_**

* * *

_**CHAPTER 7:**_

**Pain and Confessions- PART 1**

Its been three days since they arrived. Sakuno felt that Ryoma was avoiding her the moment that the bus halted to a stop in this camp. Whenever she tried to look towards him during dinner both yesterday and the day before that, he didn't even acknowledged her. Like she was transparent, invisible. 'Maybe the practice is getting on him' she convinced herself. It was true though. Yesterday's practice was traumatic for the regulars but it was kept a secret so no one knew exactly what happened.

"I don't even want to know..." she told herself.

It's because yesterday, that afternoon when the sempai's came back after the training, she was shock when she saw them looking like savages:

Fuji was smiling a little devilishly, his eyes half opened.

Tezuka covered his eyes with the back of his hand, comforting himself from his nausea.

Momo's eyes were bloodshot red.

Kaidoh screamed a restless 'meow' when startled.

Oishi trembled in the corner and his partner Eiji was murmuring to himself.

Kawamura became afraid of beetles, and Ryoma collapsed in the floor and didn't dare move for an hour.

But oddly enough, Inui was unscathed and normal.

"Must be his new disgu-, i mean, concoction..." she can't afford herself to say the word disgusting. She has always seen her sempai as a sensitive-inside-evil-in-the-out image. Pulling herself together while shaking the memory off her head, she stood away from her bed, fixed her blankets and smiled at the morning.

She intended to wake up after all to cook breakfast for the regulars, her grandmother the coach and for Rei, the other prince of tennis. In fact, she has been thinking of nothing else except for cooking today's meal. She was not this passionate before but after what happened 2 months ago, even before the decision of having a camp was announced, she was inspired to take it seriously.

That day, Sakuno saw Ryoma lying down under a huge Cherry Tree, just beside the courts. It was nothing new to her. Being with Ryoma and admiring him for almost a year now made her more knowledgeable to the places where the tennis prince usually hangs out.

'He really loves tennis...' Sakuno thought while she observed the lying figure about 10 feet away from her. She was going to pass him through but her eyes and feet stayed glued from where she was.

_"Oi! Ryuzaki..."_

Echizen called out.

Sakuno felt a shock enter her body when he heard that gentle cold voice called out her name. She hesitated and stared at him blankly trying to confirm if he really did call her out.

Echizen just raised his brows

He was now sitted upright, his head nested on his right palm and his arm rested on his right knee. Sakuno decided to closen the gap and sit beside Ryoma.

"What is it?" Sakuno asked. Ryoma did not answer, instead the sound coming from his stomach clearly shouted what he wanted to say. Sakuno sweat-dropped and tried to supress her giggles.

"Haven't eaten your lunch yet?" she asked discreetly. The prince shook his head and began to stretch his arms and hands.

"**_Forgot mine back home_**..." he said as if he was really bothered not being able to bring it. He started to mumble some words but the only thing she got was the phrase, "stupid, perverted old man...". Another growling sound came out but he did not seem to be embarassed by it.

"I-I have an extra lunch box here... It's actually for Tomoka but she called in absent today... would you like to have it instead?" she lied. The truth is she haven't eaten anything since morning but looking at him, she finds it hard to resist his childish charming side.

The prince, on the other hand, looked at her, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Sakuno thought she did a good job because he got the lunchbox from her hands. He showed some slight hesitations but with a little push, he accepted it with a bow of thanks. He didn't speak a word and he ate it obediently. His face – blank like a boring mask.

After he has eaten half of the lunch box, Echizen handed it back to Sakuno. Surprised, Sakuno stared at the food and back to Echizen. "A thin person like you should eat more..." he said in a monotone voice. Sakuno blushed but shook her head.

"But really, I ate my..."

_-stomach grumbles- _

"My... lunch already..."

Sakuno felt the sound of her stomach resounded at the whole school. Red with embarassment, she didn't see him react although she did see him grin. He then got her slender hands and placed the lunchbox in it."The food is a little salty." He said standing up, brushing off the grass that got on to his uniform.

"It's good to eat something like that once in a while..." he finally said without looking back to the starry eyed girl. But before he took a step, he looked back to the girl with a smile on his face. "I forgot," he started. "Forgot?" Sakuno echoed, wondering what else he could have forgotten.

"Your hair's a little long, cut it..." he said before walking away with a raised hand.

A gush of wind danced with the melody of romance as Sakuno felt a deep sense of affection for Ryoma. She protected her eyes from her bangs that went to her face and the right felt the length of her hair as she looked at the disappearing figure of the boy from the distance.

"Ryoma-kun..." she whispered. She gazed down at the food he saved for her and smiled her heart out.

"Arigatou, Ryoma-kun..."

-- 

Regaining her senses back, she sneaked out of her room, trying her best to avoid any noise that could wake up the regulars. Sakuno got a peice of paper from her pocket and tried to ran through the lines that was printed on it.

In the beggining of the page, there were 2 words that was written in bolded letters. It said- "**WESTERN MENU**" and below it were a series of bullets in a form of star. The first line read, "BACON- 2 1/2 packs left" under it were instructions of how to cook it- and I mean cook it using her style. "EGG- 2 dozens, CHEESE – 1 box (for omellete and spreading), BREAD – 3 packs left and MILK – 8 L left" Sakuno smiled. "I guess it'll be a long morning."

The hallways seemed empty but when Sakuno turned on the corner going to the kitchen, the light coming out from the supposedly-empty room disturbed her. The air near it, smelled the aroma of fried food circulating and whoever did this must have been doing it for awhile now because the smell seemed like it was there almost forever.

She crept inside the kitchen maintaining every sound as minimal as possible. From the distance, she was surprised to see Rei. He was wearing a cute, pink apron with a plate of eggs on his right hand. His outstanding, prince-like appearance donned by a cute frilly laced apron seemed strange but totally irreplaceable.

The man on the other hand wasn't aware of the girl's presence only until he heard some giggling in the corner. When he looked at her, his cheeks flushed and was almost embarassed to say anything.

"Sakuno? Aren't you too early?" he strated.

The girl blinked her eyes off the apron and faced a slightly worried Rei looking at her. She coughed a little and replied, "I should be asking you the same thing, why are you here? Shouldn't you still be asleep?" She eyed the plate of food on his right hand with which he settled slowly on the kitchen counter beside him.

"And let you cook for all of us alone? You're joking right?" he said returning his gaze back to the heated pan. He cracked another egg on the side letting all of its contents slide into it.

"B-but... its my duty," she said, getting an apron from the rack. She tried to tie the strings at the back only to be loosened back again by the boy who approached her from behind.

"Ite..." Sakuno felt a jump in her heart when Rei whispered behind her ear, bringing a shiver in her whole, stiffened body. His voice made her feel priceless at that moment. Her face turned beet red, adrenalin pumping in and it was a good thing she had her back on him else, truth be foretold.

"You go and get some sleep, everything is well taken care of..." As if noticing the uneasiness of the girl, Rei's voice reverted back to a child trying to win an argument as he patted lightly her shoulders.

Sakuno felther body relaxed and as soon as it did, she turned her back again to face the man. She placed a smile on her face and gazed at Rei whose seriousness seemed to have evaporated after seeing the girl's smile. "And let you cook for us all alone? You're joking right?" Rei, wide-eyed, gazed at Sakuno's compassionate eyes. He became flustered and tried his best to think of something to stay in the kitchen and help prepare the breakfast.

That was his reason after all, for waking up earlier than Sakuno did and he can't imagine leaving the girl at the kitchen alone.

"But it's my—" he was stopped with a clarification from Sakuno.

"Not your duty..." Sakuno reminded with a raised brow. Rei stopped for a while and posed to think of something.

"My pleasure?" He replied with a question. Sakuno raised another brow and smiled.

"And yes, I'm thankful for that..." Sakuno saditically smiled again as she got the turner from Rei's right hand which resisted a little but eventually gave way.

Rei on the other hand was taken aback and he was unable to speak for a while.

'_**I can't believe it...'**_

**--**

Rei stayed on the sides as he watched the girl put on some apron and cook the job he was forcefully taken out of. Somehow he felt pleasure in all of this but still he was somehow depressed that she couldn't let him do the job.

"Obaa-chan told me that you asked her coach yesterday to allow you to practice with the regulars..." Sakuno started to disturb Rei's trail of thoughts.

Rei just nodded his answer and smiled. "I wanted to feel the training of Seigaku's players..." hearing this, Sakuno sighed. 'He can say that because he doesn't know how dangerous thier training is...'

"Then you better return to sleep and reserve your stength for later. I'm not kidding you when I say that Seigaku's training is... well, hellish. You've seen it yourself... right?" She really thought hard of what adjective to use during that brief moment of silence. She's been around long enough to know. Those training that drains the players physical strength and strengthens thier courage by Inui's constant threats of his favorite homemade juice.

She tried to wonder what will happen to poor Rei when he gets to try that concoction whipped by the data man. On the other hand, she doesn't even want to imagine.

"Are you worried for me?" Sakuno looked at the man who for awhile got her approval to help her cook the bacon beside her. She really can't say no to him especially if he looked at her like an abandoned pup.

"Of course I'm worried. You don't even know what you're entering into... well of course that's why Seigaku's strong, I guess..." Sakuno noticed Rei's silence but when she checked him out, he had a very satisfied face along with the smile that goes with it.

"Rei?" She called out.

"Oh, don't mind me..." he said, noticing that the girl has ben taking note of his behavior.

"What happened? you look happy..." Sakuno jokingly asked. Rei raised a brow and flashed another smile.

"Not really... and I just feel that the training is kind of, well, interesting..." he suggested, looking at the girl's reaction. He saw her raise a brow of question but it was followed by one of her smiles. "You sure are strange..." the girl gave a laugh and Rei can't help but to follow. She was attractive and her eyes made him felt that she was purposely hypnotizing him. '_I can't believe I'm thinking of stupid things now..." _he thought.

"Sakuno..." he called out as he broke the laugh. His voice waivered a little. Like what he said yesterday, he'd be ready to take any chances available. This was definitely a chance and he's going to take it.

"Yes, what is it?" Sakuno tagged along without looking at him.

"I just wonder..." Sakuno tried to figure out what bit the champion's tongue but she was clueless.

"Wonder what?" she asked, concerned. Rei brought down the plate, turned off his stove and Sakuno's, and along with the turners, he faced her. He was a little taller than Sakuno and he felt his desire to embrace her just by looking at those set of eyes he'd be risking his entire career to have.

"I..." Sakuno raised a brow, encouraging him to continue.

**_"Ryuzaki,"_**

A voice called out. Rei almost hit his head on the counter after hearing the voice of someone he didn't want to see. Sakuno, recognizing the voice immediately turned around and saw the prince with a red jacket on, loooking at her and the food beside her.

"Echizen, you're up early..." she replied, shocked at his sudden appearance.

"Maa..." he answered back, shooting some glances around the man beside her who just smiled as if he knew.

"_Nice timing, Ryoma..._" Rei commented in english, somewhat annoyed. And since Sakuno did not really understand, he pretended to welcome Ryoma with a smile of good morning. Ryoma on the other hand, pretended he didn't hear and instead looked right past at him and back to the girl who gave a shout of, "Ah!" when she realized something that just came up to her.

"I forgot..." Sakuno shouted, still trying to keep her voice down. "Forgot what?" Rei asked.

Sakuno looked back at him and to Ryoma and forced a smile on her tiny little face before speaking. "I just remembered, Echizen-kun doesn't really like western breakfast..." she said, her brows met on the center.

"Hate... western breakfast?" Rei echoed and look back at Echizen who didn't seem surprised she knew.

"It's fine," he mumbled immediately.

He accidentally saw what the other was cooking on the side and flash a smart grin at him, "I only hate bacons in Western cuisine..." Sakuno nodded and eyed the bacon beside what she was cooking and smiled back at him. "I see, there'll be other food later though so i don't think it'll pose a problem..." she got the turner from the plate and opened the fire back.

_"It's a little early for this you know..."_ Rei said, giving him a thorough look before cooking his part of the job. Echizen did not really answer back but instead gave him a smirk. Rei saw this and at that moment, he just can't believe how he can meet someone so annoying. He gorgeously combed his hair away from his face with his hand, "You're something else..." he commented.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Echizen replied. He then showed signs of leaving the room after getting a bottle of milk in the refrigerator.

"Where are you going?" Sakuno asked.

"Outside," he replied and waved a hand before he turned and exit. After a brief moment of silence, Rei broke the pause.

"How did you know that Ryoma doesn't like American breakfast?" Rei disturbed, curious of how she regards Ryoma. Sakuno flinched but she smiled afterwards. "I just heard it from my friend Tomoka because she's an avid fan of Ryoma,"

"And you're not?" he followed.

It was the girl's turn to get her tongue stuck. She blinked and faked a laugh that unfortunately came out sweetly. "Well... maa..."

Hearing that, Rei looked directly to her eyes and it took him a moment to speak again. "I found some nice spot up the mountain path while I was out exploring yesterday. It has a great view of the whole forest floor. There's even a lake and a cave further north," he said.

"Really?"

"You were sleeping back then so I went out to see but I came back immediately so I was not able to enjoy it much..." he explained. "Then, why did you come back immediately?" they were both washing the dishes, the pans and the utensils on the sink.

"Well, i was worried because you were left alone here..." he replied. Sakuno on the other hand, couldn't speak for a while. She was afraid to show how she felt if she speaks.

"Why don't we check it out again later?" he asked. Sakuno was quiet for while but she nodded her answer, "Okay then, it's a promise..." he raised with a smile, looking out the door to see a peice of Echizen's red jacket beside it.

--

"Why don't... you give up now?" Rei asked, panting heavily from all the running. Ever since he joined today's practice sessions, Ryoma has been competitive and tried to top whatever Rei did best. They were both rivals in every activity but unfortunately, won equally in all aspects.

This time, everytime Rei was getting closer to him during the sprinting, Ryoma would hasten his pace and Rei would as well. He had actually no idea why he had to compete but everytime he losses, he seems annoyed to no particular reason at all. It feels as if he's taking what he said litearally, that he'd win against him, and that if he losses against him, he'd have to return wounded back to Europe.

'As if i'd let you...' he whispered to himself as he sprinted to the other prince's side. Thinking about what happened earlier, Rei had an idea. He went beside him and smiled. "Did i tell you that we have a date later?" Rei said making Ryoma loose his concentration, causing him to stumble down on the floor.

"Must be the shoes," Rei commented. He stopped and squatted in front of Ryoma, "need help?" he asked, his voice didn't sound like he was taunting.

"No need," Ryoma replied. His eyes gave away what he was feeling.

"Suit yourself then..." he said, leaving Ryoma a last look before he moved on.

"Stupid..." was the only word he could say.

--

"Obaa-chan, can we prepare something special for dinner, two days from now?" she asked suddenly. Her grandmother who was sitting on the opposite chair looked up from the newspaper to her grandaughter on the other side. "We can also shop later today..." she followed. Ryuzaki-sensei looked at her grandaughter who seemed to look like her mother, her daughter, at that very moment.

"I may not be able to go today since I have to go somewhere later today, but that'll be very much appreciated by the members, why not wait until their practice end today before you go to the town. I'll ask someone to help you out. You'll be carrying a lot of stuff you know..." she reminded with a smile of concern painted on her face.

Sakuno agreed and proceeded to work again. After 15 minutes, the girl felt the member's returned. Before she went back in her room, she readied the food on the table outside and went again inside to fix her self up.

Upstairs, from the window on her room, she could see Ryuzaki-sensei talking some sense into to them. They looked fired up and although today did not seem like the hell day she was talking about, it may be due to the practice matches tommorow. She immediately went downstairs when she saw her grandmother waved for her to go down. Before she left her room, she grabbed her wallet and closed the door.

--

Sakuno could feel that her grandmother told them about the idea of dinner before she went out of the house. "Oh, Sakuno, right, I'll be tasking..." Ryuzaki-sensei paused for awhile as she scanned the group of men that was on the soily floor until she saw movement from the back. She could see momoshiro and eiji holding a giant bulletin with the name "Ryoma" in it. The coach can't help but to crack a hesitant smile.

"Echizen to go along with you..." When the prince heard this she could only look at Sakuno who was standing still as if she was shocked of what she just heard. "All ri-" she was cut by her grandmother with another name. "And Rei also..." she stated. Sakuno felt she couldn't breath at that moment but she tried her best to stay calm. "O-o-okay..." was all she could say.

----

Sakuno was caught in the middle. The silence the strange set-up her grandmother has brought her made her feel uneasy. They were going down the hill and no one has spoken a word at all. Not even Rei who's known for changing the heavy air to a lighter one. 'Geez, what is she thinking?' she thought, trying to feel that everything is still normal when obviously it was not.

But amidst all of this, she started to reflect on her feelings. She eyed Echizen Ryoma from the back. He can be annoyingly proud and dense while, doing the same, Rei on the other hand is a gentleman who is humble and sensitive. Ryoma is witful while Rei is wise. What changes everything is that she has admired Ryoma for several months but Rei makes her feel that they have known each other longer.

Rei rivals that of what Ryoma has-skills, manners and attitude but Ryoma rivals everything he has. 'They're definitely princes dressed in commoner's clothes,' she thought and she laughed causing the two, who were giving 'the vibes', to look behind and stare at the girl's exhibit of her momentary happiness.

Seeing this, Sakuno stopped and looked apologetically to both of them. "I-I'm sorry, I just thought of something..."

Rei sighed and gave her a reassuring smile. "No, we're both sorry, we're not much of a companion are we?" he looked worried but his compassionate smile didn't waver. Rei elbowed echizen and the other just coughed and held his cap while he slowly nodded. Rei frowned a bit and he elbowed Ryoma, much harder this time, that it caused him to look at Rei, irritated. But he just sarcastically replied with a sadistic smile. "S-sorry," Ryoma finally said, shying away from her face- the after schock of what happened on the bus.

"N-no, I mean, it's fine... don't worry about it. You both must be tired from training... being dragged to this..."

"Well if I can eat Sakuno's cooking later, I don't mind at all..." Rei started, looking at Sakuno as he erased her uneasiness back to normal. Sakuno blinked her eyes and smiled.

"Then, what would you like to eat?" She replied like a child responding to consolidation.

"It feels like you're now my wife, Sakuno-chan..." the girl blushed and tried to hide it by looking away. "That's impossible, Rei you're really funny..." Sakuno commented with a weak laugh. "I agree." Echizen bluntly said. Rei eyed him but decided to let go. "Well I'm just breaking the ice, you see I'd rather be active and funny than to be passive and boring." He joked but Sakuno couldn't make herself laugh at that one.

"Curry..." Echizen said as if he wasn't really listening to what Rei was saying. "I'd like to have it for dinner later..." he added.

"That'll be fine for tonight as well..."

* * *

SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE: 

I felt this story is dragging it a bit... :) hahaha... i want a series of comedy before proceeding and i feel its always Rei who does the talking, but think about it, Ryoma doesn't speak a lot and if he does, i feel it'll be like this... but nevertheless, i'll make him talk a lot in the next update. Smile and RCS please.


	9. Chapter 8

**AUTHOR"S NOTE:**

Okay, Whew! 3 months?? I mean come on? Who updates stories this slow?

-Shyly raises hand-

Okay, my fault but hey I've been trying to seriously study about writing, well that along with clinical duties and tons, and I mean it, tons of assignment. But hey! I'm now trying to upload 3 chapters in a flash to make it up and I plan to update the last one this Christmas. This as a Christmas gift for everyone!

**And Guys! Thank you for the suggestions. I was really, really happy that I was able to establish an Original Character like Rei as to be welcomed openly by POT fans. I hope you still like him after this one...  
**

* * *

** Chapter 8:**

**PAIN AND CONFESSIONS Part 2**

Ryoma was awfully quiet as he watched both Sakuno and Rei handle the shopping. It's a good thing that he carried three bags of the groceries or else it'll look as if he just tagged along with them, or at least that was able to convince him.

It's not as if she didn't talk to him at all during that period of time. She always did but he just did not know what to say or answer back. Like this one time, she asked, "Do you like some cake for the party?" she asked, smilingly expecting him to say yes. And he'll nod just for the sake of answering her back.

"What do you like, Chocolate or strawberries?" she'd follow but then he did not really fancy sweet things so he'd just answer, "Whichever,"

He didn't consider those conversations at all. He wanted to talk to her like how he's been carried away from Rei's talkativeness.He wished to do that but he just can't talk to her the way people normally do, you know, ask. In fact, he has never related to any other girls before and why he is now bothered to do it now.

There are just so many things happening. He noticed it, especially at that time when he touched her lips with his own. It was the first time he felt like a man in wanting, not the tennis prodigy guy who's obsessed with rackets and championships. Even if he did want to talk to a girl, he could have, it's just that, no other girl could ever be like Sakuno. She was different!

Sometimes she's shy and reserved but there were times when she speaks up for others and cares openly for everyone. Then she turns shy again and become flustered all over again.

"Yeah… that is so true…" Ryoma heard her say in between giggles. She was laughing, meticulously covering her lips with her palms, her cheeks reddened momentarily as she wiped a tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

Echizen felt himself stare at her as his own cheeks flush the same color. His eyes were wide like a child and her laughing figure made him stay there, hypnotized. Her soft and gentle movements began to amaze him.

'W-what is she doing?' he asked himself still gazing at Sakuno from the back- his heart speaking the rest.

Catching another attention from the sides, he saw Rei catering her some help in the bags of food they just bought. He frowned. His eyes fixed at the man who was making her laugh. He pulled his cap down, covering his face and returned his hands back behind his head, making the groceries hit the sides of his shoulder.

"What's wrong with me?" he murmured. Though he would've enjoyed the sight all day, he was disappointed. She was enjoying herself with someone else- and he didn't want to admit it- that someone is a guy with an astounding prince-like attitude. "Just like how all girls want it," he added in the reality's stereotyped scenario just like this one.

'Do you need anything more?" Ryoma called, wanting to break her laugh with whatever that was making her.

In return, he got her whole undivided attention but she wasn't the bubbly one who was laughing beautifully that welcomed him, it was her timid, shy and nervous one that met him, looking away and avoiding his gaze. Ryoma felt angry towards her for some reason.

'Why does she always have to do that?' he asked himself, wanting to confront the girl and question her straight out. But he only stayed there and watched. Watched as she nervously answered his question.

"Yeah, we need more stuff…" she finally said. The man sighed but was still calm about it. "Then hurry up," he said, trying to hide the irritation which he didn't know came from. Sakuno was surprised when she heard that but nodded timely, afraid she'll aggravate him more.

Ryoma on the other hand felt stupid. There were several stabs of guilt hitting him everywhere, every time he walked. He eyed Sakuno who didn't seem to get affected and was deliberately looking around for more things she possibly needed to buy.

"So you're jealous?" Rei asked as he went past the man who seemed to be froze with guilt. He frowned again and turned his cap away, carrying his face-filled with truth.

"Who'd be jealous?" he asked grinning, picking up the pieces of his composure that was long attacked by the other prince. _"YOU," _the other replied in English. For a moment there, he wasn't able to fight back, because he felt, even for a second that he really was. He sighed and turned his back away from him.

"I'm…" he stopped when he saw Sakuno being confronted by two men who seemed pretty annoyed.

Ryoma tried to catch a quick glimpse from the guy beside him and he too can feel the intensity building up in his hands. He saw him slowly let go and flash a smile towards him.

"I'm afraid it 's your turn now…" Rei said as he tried to push Ryoma into the scene. The other complied but looked back to see how the other would like to charge in as well.

"I told you, I'm a pretty fair guy," He started. "Besides, a damsel in distress doesn't need two princes saving her…" Ryoma felt a change of heart towards the man but didn't quite trust him that much to believe that he's doing it for him.

"I'm guessing you want to prove something," he called. The other grinned and acted as if he was clapping at how far he have seen through him.

"If Sakuno will love me, Of course, I want her to be mine alone. I'm really possessive you see." He started, trying to look at Sakuno apologizing at the two annoyed men.

"If by this she gets trouble picking between you and me, then it'll be a problem." He added.

"So you want to know if she'll still pick you after I save her from those monkeys?" Ryoma felt a grin escape his face. "You're an idiot then." He added as he turned around, approaching the scene as if he didn't care if he won it or not.

"HEY!" The man shouted as he held her right arm and squeezed it so hard that she couldn't help but squeal. The two men looked like trouble itself; they seem to be the types of men who really seems to do anything foul. She got scared so she averted her eyes away from them and closed them shut.

"I'm really, really sorry, please don't hurt me," she said with a soft voice. She could have said it louder but that's all she could muster up. She also remembered that she didn't want to trouble either Rei or Ryoma, whom she thought by now was still scanning the shelves for food. She built a resolve that she must handle this by herself before they even remember that she was already missing.

"Sorry!? You bump into someone and all you can say is sorry?" Sakuno swallowed hard. She doesn't like how this thing is proceeding.

"I really didn't me-…" she stopped when she saw Echizen approaching the scene with sharp eyes, those he usually had during his fights.

"Ry-ryoma-kun…" she mumbled shakily.

"Let go of her…" The man ordered. His eyes were burning like a ball hit by a full charged Hadoukkyu. It seems effective though, because even with his height as compared to those guys, fall short, it was scornfully powerful enough to let go of the girl's hand.

They were clearly not used to the pressure the Ryoma was giving them and they just eyed both of them before they finally decided to go away. Sakuno, despite the firm hold on the Ryoma's jacket was still scared, not from the threat of a while ago but from the same pressure that made the two men back away.

She was not used to it since it was different from the looks he gave during his tennis matches. "Ryo-" Sakuno saw Echizen's worried face fawning on her weakened, less spirited body as his eyes tried to search for an answer.

"Are you all right?" he asked, trying to put a hand on top of her shaking ones. Sakuno could have resisted that hand due to what happened earlier but she couldn't fight off the warmth that made her feel secured- that hand that finally made her realize that he was back again.

At that moment, she couldn't help but throw her hands around the neck of the tennis prince beside her and start to sob lightly. "S-sorry, I was scared," she said in between sobs. Ryoma froze. It was Sakuno's feel, her body was close to his and he could feel the rise and fall of her body as she continued to sob on his now rigid body. His hands were raised but he hasn't placed them around her like he was itching to do. He then slowly decided to wrap her around his arms but was stopped when she heard her speak again,

"I'm not used to see Ryoma-kun look like that…" His body froze once again. 'Look like… that? What did I look like?' he thought as he stopped advancing his hands, letting them fall back limply to his sides.

"I see," he said. He slowly pushed back the girl and immediately covered his face with his cap, like he has been doing for a thousand times already. He didn't want her to see that face that made her feel uncomfortable.

"It'll be dark soon…" he said turning away from her and out of the store, carrying the groceries that he has left beside the other man who welcomed his arrival with a grin.

"Looks like she's happy being saved by a prince after all," he said not knowing what happened. He eyed Ryoma questionably and his gaze fell back towards the girl who looked as if she had done something terribly wrong.

"I guess not…" he followed with a twitch in his mouth.

--

The atmosphere did not change after they arrived back home at the Training house. Even the expectations of the two men who put their first year brother on the spot like that noticed the big change. Even if they wanted to ask what happened, none of them made a very clear answer without spending most of the time saying, "Um…" and "I…" They even tried to approach Ryoma who seemed to be lifelessly uncaring at that moment was lost in thought.

Even when they were taking their dinner, everyone was quiet, that Eiji had to shout it out afterwards. Sakuno laughed but it was not her usual ones that lasted for some time. It was those short fleeting ones that disappeared immediately when someone noticed. She even went out to escape the looks they were giving her and sat flatly and limply down the floor.

"Sakuno-chan," Rei called. She was sitting on the corridor, looking outside at the soft and wonderful display of fireflies floating about the pond, inside the compound of the training house. It was when she lifted her chin when she heard her name being called out did she see Rei who was now wearing his evening Japanese wear, flashing a soft smile at her form. "R-Rei-kun…" she mumbled as she saw him settled down beside her.

"I guess the promise can wait," he said as he tried to remind the girl about what they talked about earlier. Sakuno was taken aback when she remembered and even tried to stand up and motioned him to lead her.

"O-oh, I'm fine… we can go there now," she invited as she tried her best to fake a laugh. Rei on the other hand, smiled at her kindness because he too knew, as well as Sakuno that she didn't want to go up there tonight. Not with what happened, whatever that is.

"Sakuno…" he started trying to break her innocent laughter with a passionate touch from his hands. "Haha… I'm sorry," she said.

"I-I was just worried about something…" Rei was evidently taking note of that. "I don't mind." He said laughing in between.

"Oh yeah, I have the perfect recipe so that you'd stop looking like that…" he said confidently with a raise fist. Sakuno seemed to feel lighter at that moment, seeing his energetic friend being so loud with his actions while still maintaining that aura of holiness around him.

"What is it?" she asked with interest, showing a smile of beckoning.

"I love you." He stated, making the girl flush a different color. Whatever she thought of it, he had no way to find out.

---

I know it's short as compensation but i hope you'd reflect and tell me your thoughts about this one. Hope i kept your interest. It's Ryoma's turn next Chapter... hold on.. I'll finish Chapter 9 fast. Thanks **RCS please :-)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

Specially for **_alishoane_**

She noted:

Why can't Rei be Kevin? It's not fair that he's also a Smith...  
Can't be helped, I'm always so fussy on names. But your story is really good, I'm always wanting a RyoSakuSomeRandomGuy pairing and they're not so common...

_-Me-_

Hahaha, Oh yeah, I forgot he's a Smith (or is it?). Well the truth is that I have made the story even before I saw that Kevin guy appear in the series, so I guess it was just a coincidence that I've used the surname Smith. And besides even if I wanted another surname, _Smith_ just pops up automatically and I can't concentrate. But thanks for noting it anyways!

**Rei: **-laughs- She actually noticed. You know? I thought no one would even ask especially now that the story is going to finish. You see, Kevin's actually my…  
**Author:** -coughs- Hope you don't forget that I'm still here Rei… -coughs-  
**Rei: **-flashed a grin-You better do something about that cough. It's getting a bit chilly now. –He said as he offered a handkerchief-  
**Author: **-looks at him and got it and sarcastically made a bow of thanks- so, where were we?  
**Rei: **Oh, the part where you say, "RCS please"  
**Author: ...**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"**Persistence"**

**A Month Ago…**

"Japan?" Rei looked at her mother, a bit puzzled on her proposition. He was working on his assignment that time while listening to some classical-pop music before her mother entered the room and took off the earphones out of his ears to get his attention which she has been trying to get for a while.

"Yes dear… Do you want to go to Japan?" she asked again, now holding something that resembled like a letter on her right hand. She was smiling as if she wanted him to notice and ask what that smile was for, and though he wanted to know himself, he tried to suppress that urge for a while and wait.

"Isn't this too sudden? I have studies after all…" he said, setting down a pen beside his notebook with a half written word on it and focused himself on the topic. "Besides, I have plans for next month..." he lied so as to get away with another one of her mother's inclinations of putting him on the spot.

"But you see…" she started playfully. "My friend asked me if I wanted to go and visit her there to help her coach her team for the nationals, but I can't go because of our business... so can you go instead of me?" she started as she flashed the letter and showed him the address of her Japanese friend as proof.

Being used to his mother, he raised a brow and beckoned her to tell him something he feels he needs to know. "Are you sure that's all you want to tell me mother?" he sarcastically implied as she saw her mother fidgeting and playing with her fingers. The woman was delighted and her once innocent smile turned into a triumphant grin.

"And I thought you're never going to ask… Well, you see…" she started, making the boy smile as she listened to her mother with soft eyes. 'I knew it...' he said to himself.

"Ta-da!" she squeaked happily as she showed him a picture of a certain auburn colored girl wearing a yukata, with her slightly curled hair loosen down to her hips. She was holding a water balloon on her right hand and was smiling gorgeously, enticing people for a second good look.

Even Rei was not an exception and even held the photograph on his right hand while he tried to make features of the girl, no, the woman on it. "She's beautiful," he said truthfully while returning the picture back to her mother, confused.

"So she's… what in this conversation?" her mother frowned and tapped his son's back, trying to massage his shoulder blades as she let him focus on the whole deal.

"Well, that's my friend's granddaughter, Sakuno Ryuzaki and from what I've heard, she's taken an interest on you" she sang joyfully while her hands did something like, 'Way to go son!'

Rei was surprised and flushed an apple-colored face before answering back. "You mean, the me in Tennis?" he confirmed and the mother just nodded a yes. Rei was flattered but felt that the championship issue or anything related to tennis at that moment was still sensitive.

He didn't want to talk about it.

He didn't want to hear about it.

And just thinking about it made a wound inside his heart ache

He just flashed a smile and held her mother's hand on his own. "I told you mother, I'm not comfortable in that topic yet…" he saw her mother frowned and she's got every reason to do it as well. She was a former Tennis Champion who taught him about the same sport.

Knowing that this was what they both work hard for, he knew that she was disappointed for not holding the racket for several months already- not that he didn't really touch his racket and all. He just never played it on the courts now. "But…" her mother countered.

"But… I'll think about it," he finally answered since he knew her mother wouldn't let him go until he said something that will make her calm about it.

"Rei, it's been 5 months after that incident. I hope you try and hold your racket again. That's what you do best…" she said with a soft smile as she planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I'll put this here then." She said as she placed the letter and the picture of the girl on top of his desk. The man watched closely as she saw her mother close the door behind her. "Sleep early," she said before totally closing the door. Rei just smiled and waved a goodnight before she totally disappeared from his sight.

He sighed and was thankful it was over. He saw the picture again and got it, looking at the woman reflecting both shyness and beauty in front of him. "So, it's been five months…" he grinned looking at another picture in the far end corner of his room. "I never noticed," he said with a grin.

--

"I love you," his words behind that soft smile were still echoing over and over again.

She froze. She tried to move but can't. Even her mouth was dry from all the thinking as she tried to figure out if the man was lying or not. Here they were, in the empty corridors, under the light of the crescent above and lowly beautiful things floating about. In all honesty, she could feel that this is what love experts say as 'The Perfect time to Confess'. Even her heart was telling her the same.

But did he mean it? Come to think of it, he has made her laugh countless times before but was this a part of another one of his joke? Besides, she just met him a week ago..

"Sakuno?" he called. She swallowed hard and was snapped out from her trance.

"I…" she bit her lips and didn't know what to say or even have the guts to say it if she has one. Rei couldn't help but smile as she saw her all flustered from his confession. She was shy and strong at the same time and her, being shy at a time like this made him want to embrace her and spend the night affirming that he loves her.

"Shocked?" he said with a grin. He left her eyes and placed them on the floating fireflies that were emitting a soft green light as they played around, above the pond. Sakuno swallowed and nodded poorly that even Rei had a hard time if it was a nod or was just a slight movement her head made as she slightly shivered from anxiety.

"Well, so was I…" he said, forcing a laugh. There was a long period of silence that existed in between them that Sakuno wondered if he still remembered that he had just confessed to her or even remembered what he was saying. She wanted to change the topic but before she could address the topic of her choice, which was about the tennis competition tomorrow, he spoke again.

"I never wanted to confess abruptly like that, it's just that… I feel I should do it now." He followed as he placed a hand on top of the girl's, that was, at that moment, clenching on her skirt. He slightly grabbed it and placed it on his slightly exposed chest, which made Sakuno look down even further as if she wanted to bore herself down the ground if possible.

But when her palm felt the bounding rhythm of his heart, the same fast paced rhythm and the same melody it was playing, she looked up blankly and saw his face that told her that he was nervous as well. "I'm really not doing a good job huh?" he said as he sighed to relieve him from the stress.

"Why me?" she thought but unfortunately she mumbled it loud enough for him to hear. He raised a brow as if he wondered why she didn't know what was in her that attracted him to her. He laughed lightly, making her blush and withdrew her hand. "What?" she countered shyly.

"I'm sorry," he started but Sakuno refused to look back again. The man sighed and tried to suppress his laughter that seems to be pretty much a hard deal. "Well," he said as he tried to get the girl's attention, which did not fail since she looked back at him, or more specifically, look at his hands that were high up on his head. "Because there's not reason why I shouldn't choose you." he said confidently. Sakuno wanted to retreat and hide under her covers now but he couldn't move an inch of her muscle as the other revealed more and more of him to her.

"I guess let's leave it at that… princess." He said as he stood up and bowed with dignity, holding the girl's braids on his palms. He then offered his other hand, in which she graciously accepted, lifting her up into a stand. "Oh before I forget," Rei pulled her again towards him, close enough to whisper in her now reddened ear. "Wh-what?" she said as she backed away, holding her hands up in front of her chest.

Rei found some satisfaction in her cute reaction and tried to smile to make her more comfortable. "Well, tomorrow, at the tennis competition…" he started, eliciting some surprise looks from the girl. "What about it?" she followed.

"I've talked to Echizen about it, I plan to do my best Sakuno. I'm not going to lose to Ryoma." He said as he waved a goodnight, leaving one astounded girl, trying to figure out what he meant about doing his best. 'Talked to Ryoma-kun?' she asked herself.

--

She couldn't sleep at all, even with all the tossing and the turning or even counting of sheep. She was really worried about the deal with Ryoma, the deal with the confession and the deal about the matches. There were so many things that kept her awake.

What was top of her concerns right now is the thing that happened between her and Rei. "He wasn't lying about it being the perfect recipe," she told herself reflecting what he said a while ago. Because at that point, she has been forced to think about the confession that was echoing in her head all night long. Some recipe...

She stood up and opened her window, revealing the light of the crescent moon above her head. There were some stars yes, but they were dominated by dark clouds and had failed to show their shine effectively.

"Oh," she mumbled, her eyes widened with curiousness as she saw the tennis prince of Seigaku, hanging around the small cliff that overlooked a part of the hillside. It wasn't that far from the training house she supposed and she felt that it was a part of the view Rei wanted to show her.

Instantly, she felt her feet moved towards the table to get a jacket that was just lying down on the table near the door. She silently and gently closed the door behind her and walked out while trying her best not to make any noise.

She didn't know why she wanted to see Ryoma when she didn't even have the courage to face him but soon after she realized that what she said might have hurt him, her body was doing the rest. "I want to apologize," she said to herself.

Her fast paced walk soon became light jugs as she sped up to the place where she saw the tennis prince. She could hear her footsteps echoing in the night and she even realized that she was afraid of the dark, much more being alone in it, but she couldn't stop her feet and turn around. She was keen to see him tonight.

As soon as she arrived in the place though, she was surprised to see no one lying in that same spot she saw on her window.

She was surprised when she saw the empty space beside the tree. 'Did I just imagine things?' she wondered as she looked down at the training house and saw the window she had left open. She sighed as she breathed her last panting and before trying to relax at the comfortable atmosphere.

It was a bit chilly but the wind feels nice and soft as it damped on her skin. She also took notice of the fresh damped grass below her that smelled incredibly invigorating. She smiled as she walked towards the other edge of the cliff and tried to look for the tennis prince but she soon accepted the fact that it might be just an illusion brought about her, stressing on several things.

"And I even rushed—" At that moment, Sakuno took a wrong step on the floor and heard herself cry a deep shriek as confirmation. She fell down but it was a short fall but the silence after that was deafening. She could still hear the echoes of her cry as she fell down. She felt her sweat as cold as ice and she could not stop shaking. She could even feel her heart pounding against her chest. But aside from that, the echoes eventually subsided and all she could hear now was the rustling of the wind and the small wincing sound of the man underneath her.

Surprised, she slowly tried to stand up and finally saw someone underneath her, breaking her fall.

"Ryo…ma," she said in slow, confirming movements, parting the hair that went to the man's face. She felt her heart jumped when she saw the same man whom she called out.

"You're quite heavy," he said with a forced grin. Sakuno felt a tear form out from the corner of her eyes.

"I thought… you were," she said, shifting her weight from him to the grassy floor where they both fell while trying to check if the man was all right. Ryoma seeing her worried face for him made him want to tightly embrace the girl and whisper that he was fine but he suddenly felt the pain that was itching to be recognized. Ryoma tried to suppress it but Sakuno was used to see his placid face that she couldn't possibly help but see the small twitch in his brow.

"Ryoma-kun? Are you…?" Sakuno's eyes were wide and suspecting as she tried to reach out a hand in the foot closest to her, but the man caught it first and tried to pull her lightly towards him. He in turn was surprise as well. He didn't know why he had reached her like that.

He sighed and gave up, lifting his face to meet up with hers. "A-are you all right?" he asked. The girl, finally realizing the feel of the man's skin on her soft crystal ones made her conscious and embarrass about it but nevertheless, she didn't fight his hold and just allowed herself to be immersed in his round, golden eyes.

"Ryuzaki-san?" he called, as he tried to stop a grin that was slightly forming in the corner of his mouth. He has seen her blush a hundred times before but this is the first time he had seen it up close, and somehow, it felt breathtakingly good.

'Anyway, why do girls blush when they're touched?' he innocently asked himself. "I-I'm fine," she said in a soft squeak as if she spoke for the first time in this lifetime. "Are you?" she returned, her worried face resurfacing.

"Do you even need to ask?" he lied and he wanted her to believe it so he flashed a grin and tried to stand up, trying to show her what she needed as proof. He even brushed himself from the blades of grass that got stuck on his white and blue uniform and even bent to get his cap that was lifelessly seated on the floor beside the girl.

He could feel the pain now, concentrating and affecting his right leg but he still managed to extend a helping hand towards the girl who accepted it with a sigh of relief. A perfect act if he could say so himself, only if it was not that painful, he could have appreciated it more.

"Why are you here anyway? It's dark already…" he said, still trying to act tough.

"Well I saw you from the window and…" Sakuno covered her mouth as she carelessly told him the truth. Ryoma looked at her, curiously and tried to bother himself if what he heard was right. "You saw me here so you followed me?" he asked, his brows rose in question.

"Well… anyway… I thought something happened to you…" she said diverting her whole attention to look at the man in front of him from top to bottom, making the tennis prince back away a little as if to hide the pain that was painfully and scornfully radiating in the length of his leg.

"A-and what if something did?" Ryoma asked, his face darkly hidden with his cap. Sakuno was taken aback and felt her mouth dry from the question. 'What… if?' she thought feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't contented with getting away unscathed.

She heaved another sigh and felt the pressure of the wind from her back, pushing her towards the man. As she neared him, she gathered all of her wits to hold his hand, but shakily as she did. "Of course, I'll worry, the matches are tomorrow. You just _can't_ get injured." She emphasized.

Ryoma delighted at the touch but the reality now occurred to him. He was fighting an important match tomorrow and he just can't lose. He tried to move his whole leg and felt that it became slightly numb now. The fact of the matter is, he can still move it.

"Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno started, getting his attention away from whatever was bothering him at that moment. "I wanted to apologize for earlier… I was being selfish." She said, bowing in apology, her hands still held his elbow, tugging it a little as she bowed down. Ryoma realizing what it was about blushed a little but saved by his cap that darkened his skin, he just couldn't ask for more than this.

"I can't remember anything," he lied as he placed a hand on top of her cold hands.

"Hey are you still surprised from the fall? You're so cold…" he said as he worriedly cupped her hands with his own, forgetting his limitations, though when he did, he couldn't imagine of letting it go.

"Ryoma-kun… Please win tomorrow…" Sakuno said as if she had an idea of what the consequence of him losing was.

She closed her eyes, feeling dizzy all of a sudden but feeling the warmth that radiated from the other man, she closened herself to that source of heat.

"Sakuno, I…" he mumbled. He couldn't believe it anymore. Sakuno was in his arms (even though he did not know the implications of it or even what to do) but he was just delighted in the sensation of her being close to him and not some particular other.

She had apologized, she told him to win, he felt that it'll just be a natural disaster that will keep him from loosing on the fight.

What more could he ask for? He had everything he needed. (Though he didn't know where that confidence came from inspite of his now itching injury), he'll be sure to win the game.

He will.

Slowly, he realized that he was now being pulled in towards her, towards those lips that he has previously touched with his own.

'Why the heck did she close her eyes anyway…' he questioned himself, being unable to resist the force of wanting to do it again, properly this time. But before he could even realize what was happening, Sakuno limply fell down the grassy floor.

"S-sakuno!" was the last thing he called and before long, he too sat down and felt the excruciating pain on his leg. "This is not good..." he said to himself.

---

Okay, I'm rushing I'm rushing… ha ha ha, the next one is the last chapter! Yeah! Whew, this chapter is long.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

All right, the chapter was delayed because I had a lot of problems and had found no time to type the last chapter. I really feel bad about the things happening to me lately. BUT! No worries, I didn't let this sour graping affect my story at all.

TOTALLY, (100) came from my deep love to Ryo-Saku Pairing.  
I'm getting more and more hyped about this pair, totally…

Hope you enjoy my last chapter.  
And I really hope I could write more!

Hahaha…

Signed:  
Himeru-chan

* * *

**Last Chapter:**

**_New Beginning_**

-pok-

-pok-

-pok-

"3-0, Smith leads!" Momoshiro's strong voice echoed loudly at the quiet tennis grounds.

There were two professional courts just outside the training house. It was not that far away from the training house and it was probably made like that so guests would be able to rest appropriately after a game. The cemented grounds were fenced with interlocking wires that seems to save the ball from entering the aged forest.

"Haa… haa… this bastard…" Ryoma whispered, wiping down the bead of sweat that fell down from his forehead. Echizen uttered a sound of dismay as he saw the ball went pass him again. He frowned and readied his racket. He was determined as hell to get the next one. That guy has gotten another point and he didn't like how he did it so easily.

"Ryoma, if this continue you're going to lose!" he told himself as he faced the setting sun at the distance.

The orange glow of the atmosphere made him remember one faint feeling- that feeling of comfort, that promise he had made, that picture he had with Sakuno.

"I _just _can't lose…"

This was the last match for the day and frankly, Ryoma was not too happy about it. The coach has found out about his injury with just a look and obviously, she forbade him to join the matches. It was only through Ryoma's desperation of having a match against Rei that moved the coach to settle with him a condition.

"An hour and your out."

It was a very silent match. There were no cheering, no, "Do your best!" and "Go ochibi" from Kikumaru. Only the sound of the balls hitting the net of their rackets provided music, one of grieving and desperation. They were all anticipating, swallowing hard as the balls pass from one court to the other.

The regulars were witnessing the champion's full potential against Ryoma's -_unusual- _wistful attempts to overpower all Rei's attacks. They were not too dense though to notice that something was wrong with their kouhai. He was barely pointing yes, he always tried to get used to the playing style of his opponent, yes (like always), but there was something in his movements that was dragging him.

"What is wrong with his right foot?" Inui made mentioned making Fuji and Tezuka nod while continuing to observe.

"It seems like a very bad sprain…" Fuji said, cupping his chin with his fingers while slowly opening his eyes to see more of their kouhai's movements.

"It would seem that it has _been_ there for a while," The captain answered, his face still stoic, unreadable.

The other members could almost hear their Echizen wincing in pain, non-verbally showing the shifts in his calm face and dragging movements. "W-well, isn't it safer to stop the match now? Ochibi-san might further harm his injury," Kikumaru's face crumpled like a ball when he realized how their kouhai with a predictable stubbornness would not agree to such terms.

After all, his eyes said it all.

"_I'm not going to lose…"_ all the regulars simultaneously said; everyone sweat-dropped and tried to force a smile.

"Well, the decision always lies to Coach Ryuzaki…" Inui said looking at the old woman, who was gritting her teeth from utter annoyance. "Sure she might have noticed before the match even started but Echizen might have said something that could convince her to continue," The others agreed at Inui's analysis. Otherwise, the coach must be just playing devil, seeing Ryoma's father's determination in Ryoma's stubbornness.

But whatever they think was not that significant, after all, all they could do is watch and see what happens next.

---

Ryoma frowned and took off his jacket and placed it on top of Sakuno's shoulders, stretching and fixing it to accommodate whatever bare skin she had from her neck down. "You really like causing trouble huh?" he said, still looking on. He had long stretched his legs and tried to massage the hurting part. "If I lost tomorrow, it'll be your fault…" he said bitterly, like a child complaining to his mother about, you know, childish things.

He sighed and scratched his head, completely lost. He raised a brow and scolded himself. "I can't loose…" He slowly closed his eyes and imagined how he can't bear not being able to see the girl. He'd…

He shot his eyes open, almost choking when he thought of Ryuzaki being… "It's not like…" he stammered. Well, they always have been close (or more specifically, she has always been close). She cheered for him during his matches, made bentos for him sometimes, they shared time together when he coached her in tennis for and… well she comforted him at times.

"_Leave Sakuno alone."_

A fleeting voice entered the prodigy's consciousness. He frowned of course when he remembered the conversation he had with that cunning man two days ago. At the same time, joining his frowning face was a face of worry he never showed anyone- particularly because he seldom did worry.

_Anxiety?_

"Hn… Why do I feel I'll loose against that stupid bird brain…" he stopped and lightly hit his head in hopes to rid the image of his grin. "Ah Why did that bastard, enter my thoughts anyway?" he stole a look at the sleeping figure beside him and once more, calmness enveloped his whole being.

"Ryuzaki… It'll really be your fault if I lose… that's why… I'll…" he released a part of his inhibitions more specifically because she was sleeping soundly. He gently stretched out his hand and caressed some of the girl's hair away from her face. "I'll…" Ryoma thought for a while, showing a hint of pink on his pale face as he stammered from what he was about to say. "I-I'll let you stay beside me…" he said narcissistically.

Ryoma sighed and looked down at the purplish part of his body that merited another good look. It was a bad sprain happening on a very bad time. "Now, how the hell do I take her back to the dorms?" he asked himself, messing his hair as he searched for some clues. He had nothing on him that would help the both of them. He also didn't like the idea of leaving the girl_alone_ in this place. That would be too…

_Alone?_

Echizen tried to catch another glimpse on the sleeping girl, swallowing hard as if something just occurred to him- that they were _alone_. He scolded himself as he swallowed hard, pushing away all thoughts of perv-

Flashes of the kiss stopping on every frame and ending on her lips made him remember the sensation of those soft pinkish ones that he had felt not long ago. A brush of red covered the prince's face. "I-it must be Oyaji's disease…' he said as he sighed his last, looking away while hoping someone can tell him what he could do and hoping someone would do so quickly.

After a while, he became uneasy, his hands clutched on the grass on the floor. "I'm just going to take a look…" he finally convinced himself as he finally won against his pride. He had always wanted to look at the girl's face for some time now but he couldn't, not that it was his fault though. Whenever he tried to catch a look on her face, she automatically hides them. Her ears starts to change color all of a sudden and she would start facing the other way.

'Like this one time, she was trying to cheer before I was about to serve the ball and I stole a quick good look at her face. She then flushed hard and hid under those balls of straws she was waving along with her noisy friend before she totally stood still.'

"Why do I get irritated remembering it?" he annoyingly brushed away the hair that fell down on the side of his face while trying to make features of the girl that was down at the floor. "She was cheering for me wasn't she?" he told himself.

"You know what? I totally hate you," he murmured, locking her figure in between his two strong arms. His eyes softened as he saw her beautiful face fastened tightly in his eyes. She smelled like gentle white flowers of spring, probably the one she got from that one time he saw her shopping in the district. (He just finished a meal that time, together with Momoshiro and Eiji, who offered to pay for their lunch)

"I really… do hate you," he said again, slowly lowering himself down to feel her soft breathes and gentle heaving of her chest. He sighed and got off of her. "This must be Oyaji's disease…" he convinced again.

"Echizen?" a voice called out. It was a familiar voice- hoarse and totally strengthening. "K-kaidoh-sempai…" Echizen called as the familiar green bandanna went into view. Echizen couldn't help but breathed in relief when he saw his sempai still out jogging in the night. 'Of course, why didn't I think of him,' Ryoma thought.

"What are you both doing here?" he asked with concern.

Ryoma pointed a childish finger towards the shallow cliff above them and to the girl beside him, tracing the fall that happened a while back. "Ryuzaki fell down and I injured my foot," he said, still trying to hide under his cap.

"What?" Kaidoh echoed and went immediately beside Ryoma to sneak a look at the purplish sprain and towards the body beside him.

"How long have you been out here?" He asked- his brows met at the center as he showed concern. "And she's burning up a little," he added after he placed a hand on the girl's forehead. Ryoma frowned and lightly shoved the hand that was on Sakuno's forehead meriting a stupefied look from Kaidoh. He was also surprised in the revelation, making him pout with worry. "S-she is…" he told himself.

"Maybe because we've been out here for quite a while… I guess the cold must have gotten into her…" he said, still trying to act tough. "You've got it hard Echizen. How worse is your sprain?"

"A bit bad, I guess…" he answered quite stubbornly, still trying to put up a tough act so he'd not be placed with worry.

"Then the matches?" Kaidoh asked. "Oh, that. Please don't tell the others, especially to Coach and to Tezuka-buuchou," the other man frowned and showed a little dissatisfaction in their kouhai's answer. He knew Ryoma wanted to play seriously against the champion but seeing the boy's situation, it would be impossible to play even a rally with him. Good thing he's good enough to be acknowledged by others. But, if he continued to play tomorrow though, not only he'd worsen his injury, if he loose, he'd lose a part of his self-acclaimed ego.

"I need to play tomorrow." He said in determination. Kaidoh didn't answer instead he gave him a look as he carried Sakuno on his arms.

"Let's go back and deal with all of this there," he said. "Hop on…" he added as he offered his back for a piggy back ride. "Don't push yourself, I can…"

"Just think of this as my training… and besides, you want to play tomorrow right? Then you have to rest that foot until then." Ryoma smirked and bowed sincerely toward his sempai.

"Thank you."

---

"5-2, Smith leads!"

"You have 20 minutes left. Either you catch up or you rest now… choose," Coach Ryuzaki offered him his towel and a quick glimpse on his aching foot that he has been protecting for a while now. He just smirk his answer and with that Coach Ryuzaki instantly knew. There was nothing that can stop him from doing this match. He was sweating too much now, more than he usually did. "Ryoma-kun, if this keeps up…"

"I'll catch up." He said, his eyes sparkling with renewed vigor. The old woman sighed and remembered Nanjirou when he had experienced the same thing back then.

"I guess you should show some results then…" she answered and walked away to let the young shounen rest.

"Oi Ryoma, is this game that easy for you that you allowed yourself to get injured just before our match?" Rei said as he took a sit beside him, drinking his share of water on the jug that he had. Ryoma didn't reply- his face covered with a cold towel. "I told you the consequence of…"

"I'm still playing aren't I?" he said. 'I haven't lost yet." He added.

Rei's face brightened up as he saw how he could still be stubborn after all this circumstances. "You amaze me you know…" he snickered and wiped his own beads with his towel. Ryoma lifted the towel away from his face and he moved his head to the sides and to the man beside him. "I'm not interested in guys…" Rei was almost shocked to laugh. He could only smile as he saw how he struggled so much in the situation. He was sure he didn't like this one bit.

They both didn't like it as a matter of fact. He's been thinking how it's all happening again- his own dilemma surfacing again; when he was in Europe playing for the WTC as a finalist. He was…

"All right, all right…" Rei said as he stood up, waving his hand. "I'm ready for a comeback…"

---

It was quiet. The room was cold but she could manage it. Sakuno was down, lying in a bed, who knows where. She was sure though, this was not her room. She slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry as she tried to get used with the soft orange light that surrounded the room.

"W-what time is it?" she asked. Still a bit dizzy so she decided not to get up. She clutched her fist into the soft covers of the bed and enjoyed the gentle feeling it brought her.

"Its quarter to five…" a voice replied.Sakuno was surprised and tried her best to search for the voice.

"R-Rei?" the girl was a bit disappointed since all she could remember was her memories from last night… when Ryoma was beside her."Oh my!" she shouted, unconsciously sitting upright.

She shivered in the feeling of the sudden movement. She felt the world was spinning or that she was spinning or whatever, she felt dizzy. "The matches?" she said, holding a hand on her head.

"It finished a long time ago…" he answered truthfully, smiling in the reaction of the girl. "You really should take care of yourself. You're sick you know…" he said as he tried to make her lie down again.

Sakuno tightened when she heard the truth and her heart leaped with uneasiness, it itself wanting to know what had happened. Who won? She had a lot of questions on her mind. If Rei's here then maybe…

Rei noticed the expressions of curiosity sweeping her entire face and he couldn't help but bit his lip in response. He doesn't know how to start or even know what to say.

"W-where's R-ryoma?"

Rei was almost shocked but did not show his uneasiness until his voice gave him away. It was cold and uncaring and it made Sakuno quiver at the last minute. "Why are you looking for him?" he asked, almost trying to sneak in a smile (that turned out to be a grin) to relieve the tension.

"I'm…" silence pursued. The tall man sighed and shifted his attention to the floating curtains by the window. Soft breezes of cold wind entered the room and the smell of the fresh mountains outside created an atmosphere of understanding between the two.

He understood well compared to the slight hints of ideas the girl has been guessing since the start of the conversation. "E-echizen might have lost against Rei," she thought but she was not yet sure; she has never seen him lost any important matches in the past (well a fight with a former champion is important).

She was still looking down, trying to avoid any eye contact with the man a few feet away from her. If she did, she's afraid she might cry from just the tension. "Sakuno," he started, making her face look up unconsciously to the call of the voice.

"Do you like him Sakuno?" he asked, his face almost traced the sadness that he's been trying to hide defiantly to himself though that well advised face of friendliness and approachability made her loosen up from the twisted face of sadness and anxiety that cupped her face for a while.

"I…" she started. She didn't now what to say. She finds it hard to admit her feelings in front of someone who confessed just yesterday. Rei could have said more but then she went ahead of him before he could say some more. "Its unrequited…" she admitted with a forced smile.

"Well I've sensed it anyway." He said hitting her lightly on the forehead, encouraging her to lighten up.

Sakuno felt his heavy hand, patting her head lifelessly and from that moment, she knew he feels the same way she had been feeling for almost a year. Tears peeked through her already clouded eyes and she couldn't hold them back on her own.

"I'm sorry…" she said, wiping a trail of tears that has already fallen down on the side of her face. Rei bit his lip as he saw the girl's fragility in front of him but instead of dwelling with the same sadness, he knew he's the only one who can change the flow of this conversation. He sighed and tried to breath in deeply.

"Sakuno, you are really kind." He said as he slowly forced his big arms around the girl who didn't have the energy to fight back. He forced a laugh when she squirmed in his arms. "R-Rei-kun…" she whispered pouting when he embraced her teasingly."You know? I don't feel like giving up especially when the match has not been decided yet…" he smiled, patting Sakuno on her back before she slowly pulled away from the embrace to clarify what he just said.

"Not been decided? Didn't you win the match?" her brows met as he offered the question seriously.

"Well, depends... did you want me to win?" he asked teasingly. Sakuno plummeted back under her covers in defense, pouting towards him under the blanket.

"Hey, please don't make me feel worse than I already am." Rei smiled from his desire to dig her out from hiding though he felt it might be better to leave it like that for a while since he hasn't really recovered from the emotional shock she gave him anyway.

"Well, no one won the match. Ryoma collapsed before that last shot." Rei went on as he noticed the dead pan silence inside the room. he guessed she had been listening when he saw a slight flinch from the covers.

"Technically, I won by a point but I feel that I lost to him completely. If his foot did not drag him at the entire game, it would have been completely a one sided match."

"W-what do you mean… how?" Sakuno asked as she released herself from hiding and slowly rose up to sit and face the other prince of tennis. Rei smiled and continued.

"He fainted just before he could return my winning shot. That shot that I used when I became a champion." The prince's eyes almost spelled every detail that occurred, smiling in sincere sadness as he tried to remember the same shot he used back then.

"W-what about the foot?" she clarified, almost tensed to know the answer. "Oh, I'm nearly amazed that he could catch up with a sprain like that…" his eyes questioningly look at the girl's change of attitude as another set of flowing tears snapped him out from his gaze."Are you all right?" he asked in concern.

"A s-sprain?" she clarified again.

"Sakuno… He had a very bad one on his right foot." He explained as he rose from his seat to snuggle closer to the girl who was already weeping controllably, using the blankets as she covered herself from shame.

"I…" she started.

"Do you know anything about it?" Rei tried to know as he placed a hand over her shoulders; his hands seemed to have shuddered from the tension.

"I-I might have caused that sprain…" she confessed as she embraced the blankets towards her shaking body. Rei's eyes widened and bit his lower lip as he continued to caress the small girl beside her.

---

After the match, when Ryoma came around, he was already lying down on a soft futon. He was probably in the dorms since he was very familiar with this wooden ceiling and the smell of vanilla paint tickling his nose. He held his head with his palm and could still feel the ache of his whole body as he moved.

_His memory was still hazy and he couldn't remember anything after that last shot. _

Ryoma tried to escape away from the dorms since he had this quiescent feeling of loosing against Rei. Another, he was sure that if he saw that guy right now, he wouldn't know what to do.

He was squatting down, looking down at the vast plains below. It was certainly a nice view as the blow of the wind did not change from yesterday. It was breezy and cold. He needed that. He lost after all. That was what his gut feeling was telling him- he lost.

He remembered hearing faint voices in the distance after that last serve and when he came around, he was back in the dorms. He probably fainted from fatigue, standing in a poised, raised racket towards Smith as if beckoning him to continue serving the ball. "I'm not satisfied…" he said to himself.

He couldn't believe how he was defeated- by a lousy injury. He had seen this coming, as an undeniable possibility but still he couldn't accept it.

"This is stupid…" he said, hammering the floor underneath him. Gravel and dust flew with the impact. His hand slowly ached from the force. It was childish, yes. He was sulking and he couldn't do anything about it. He stood up and felt the pain once again from the sprain.

"I wonder which hurts more, your pride or your heart…" a voice from behind him said as it lowly approached the wounded figure in front of him. Echizen didn't bother to look back since he knew the voice fairly well. He has been hearing it all day after all.

"You must be laughing huh?" Ryoma smirked and looked away. "What else do you want?"

"You should get your foot treated… the faster it heals… the better for the both of us…" Ryoma did not understood what he wanted to say but he did plan to get himself fix. It's just that he didn't want to at the moment. He had no strength to do so.

"You don't have to tell me. I'll really get my foot healed and I'll challenge you for a re-match with the same conditions." He said in a snob, meriting a look from the man beside him. He smiled and almost laughed. "And you think I'll agree?" Ryoma sighed and spoke again. "I wouldn't be talking here about re-match if I believe you'll not accept it."

"You're pretty confident aren't you?" Rei had an amused look on his face. He knew Ryoma liked to act tough despite what he as feeling and that he did not want others to see his wounded ego. But his stubbornness was too much and he had a hard time suppressing the giggles that was forming on his face. "Then, tell me a good reason for the re-match and I'll…" he stopped, countered with a sharp remark from the tennis prince of Seigaku.

"Do you even need to ask? I can't just let her go flirting with a guy like you." He said, covering his face with a cap. That face was immediately darkened and the hair that fell down on the side of his face added more shadow on his flushed face.If you ask him, he really didn't like the idea of sharing his thoughts about the matter, with either his circumstances or with Sakuno especially to the guy that was most especially involved in the matter. Though he knew that if he didn't, he wouldn't have a shot for another chance.

He needed to reclaim back everything.

"Why?" Rei countered, digging more than what the other has provided. Ryoma frowned and flashed a grin as he looked back at the WTC champion beside him. "Because I'm pretty possessive…"

"You don't even own her…" Rei said in some "_as-a-matter-of-fact"_ voice, his version with a mix of challenge and annoyance. Ryoma frowned hoping that he would just accept it and scram back to Europe. It's not as if he has the privilege of taking the girl back there anyway. Still, he really didn't like the idea of seeing him now or especially see him together with Sakuno.

"Oh yeah, that's why I was asking for a re-match… stupid…" he replied. He pointed a finger on his face, his eyes sharp and confronting. "Give me a week and I'll take her back from you (alien)" he mumbled the last word into an incomprehensible one, hoping he wouldn't call him childish for calling him names.

"If you're that brave in challenging someone, why can't you tell your feelings to the girl?" he suggested his right hand cupping Echizen's chins and up to face him. "T-there's no need…" he said swiping away his hand that held him. "Why?"

"Because… I'm no good for her…" he grinned as he carried his arms around the back of his head to support it. "And if you ever told her this I swear I'd…" when Ryoma looked at the man, he was already walking away towards the big tree that was at the center of the clearing. "Well, too late she already heard…" Rei said as he pointed at the tree that was only a few feet away from them. Ryoma fairly got the idea but he couldn't believe it. Oh, Kami-sama! This was surely a problem.

"Make your decision now… you want her or not?" Rei said scratching his head as he stopped walking when he saw Ryoma being crippled by the idea of the girl hearing what he was just saying. He had his fists clenched tightly into a ball and had his cap, lowly down, covering his eyes.

"I lost… didn't I?" he made sure. He peripherally saw him nod his answer but was not able to make a decision. What was happening? He thought he made it clear that whoever lost should stay away from Sakuno. "What are you plan-" he stopped when he heard him count, forcing him to make a decision.

"5… 2…" he started. "What kind of lousy counting is that?" Ryoma scolded unable to restrain himself from shouting. "And 1… times u-"

"I do!" He whispered, enough for Rei to hear and hopefully not enough for the girl to hear.

"What? Can't hear you from here…" Echizen swallowed hard. He could have threw a stone or two towards the guy but didn't. Instead, he couldn't really believe what he was doing. Playing cupid or whatever. He was sure he really liked Sakuno as well...

"Should I start counting again?" he shouted teasingly, almost beckoning the other for a fight. Echizen's face soured.

"(You Bastard) I do!" he shouted, his voice almost echoing down the cliffs below. Rei smiled and thought, "What do you know, it's not unrequited after all..."

He had waved a hand towards Sakuno who was already in thegrassy floor, trying to clutch deeply on the ground for support. He went ahead and left them alone, a pang of pain tickling him on the chest. And after a few moments, Sakuno and Ryoma found themselves alone with only a tree separating themselves from each other's view.

Ryoma sighed, irritated with the silence. He walked over towards the tree and piece by piece, he saw Sakuno's clothes sprawled over the grass. Her plaited skirt covered her shivering legs and both her hands had long found its way to cover her mouth. She was nervous he could tell. Her face was pink and if he didn't know it better, he'd think that she was really sick.(though he knew by himself that he was flushing the same color)

"W-what did you hear?" Ryoma started as he broke the silence between them. Ryoma saw her get startled from surprise. Sakuno swallowed hard as she forced herself to answer.

"A-about… e-everything…" she replied, her voice wavering as she did. She hid her face afterwards and tried to avoid any eye contact with the tennis prince.

'He is so gonna' die…' Ryoma thought how bad he had planned out everything from the start. When he remembered the things he has been telling the other a while ago, he couldn't help but to deepen the color of his face. Ryoma looked a little frustrated as he covered his face with both of his hands and leaned towards the aged tree that stood still for them.

"L-Listen…" he started as he slowly encouraged the girl to stand up. When she already did, and suprisingly did without hesitations, he and pushed her lightly to lean back at the tree. His left hand was high up on top of her head and his other pushing the bark of the tree near her neck. Sakuno looked surprised and didn't move for a second. She unconsciously looked down, not bearing to let the man see her blushing face.

"Why are you looking down? I'm going to talk to you..." he said as he cupped her chin to make her look back at him. "R-Ryoma-kun… I h-heard you were sprained pretty badly…" she said trying to change the topic. Echizen grinned and sighed deeply. She was really hopeless.

"And?" he asked. Ryoma's brow met at the center when he saw the girl squeezing her eyes shut."W-why are your e-eyes closed anyway?" he questioned, the memory of the kiss resurfacing again. "I-I can't look at Ryoma-kun. It's too embarrassing…"

Ryoma frowned and heaved. When she looked like this and when her eyes were closed like that, it seems a little unbearable for his part. He thought he should be the one embarrassed here after all the things he had said earlier.

"O-open your eyes stupid…"

"I-I'm really…" she said in a squeak. Ryoma swallowed hard.

"Forget it… I warned you..." he said as he forcefully pushed his lips on to the girl's soft ones, making the other squeal in surprise. He begged entrance on her lips as he passionately and caringly bit her lower lip, letting all his masculinity seep through her body. He played around with her as the same went instantly for him. Muffled voices and un-kept moaning continued to play. He liked the feeling but he felt the need of the woman to breathe so he let go and grinned almost devilishly at her. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you…"

Sakuno wanted to faint. Echizen and her... together... she knew it was spinning... everything was! "Tha-that was my first kiss!" she said as she pouted cutely at Ryoma. The prince cunningly stepped back and left the girl astounded. "I remember that iwas your third one..." he answered, waving a hand as he trudged down the path. "Third?" she asked as she desperately tried to catch up with the tennis prince.

Sakuno blushed when she remembered the kiss that he had with Rei. "Maybe so... but when was the other?" she thought to herself the prince almost grinning with pleasure beside her."Okay then, that was your second with me…" he said as he walked away purposely leaving her behind.After this, he wondered why his foot didn't hurt as much as before. "She's a great therapist. I should have tried it last night." he told himself.

"Hey, R-Ryoma-kun? What are you talking about? What Se-second??" Echizen looked at her and pouted.

"Oh... did I say that? Fine, it was your first…" he teased.

"Ryoma-kun tara!"

---

**FIN**

Haha, so I'm guessing that most of you were wondering what happened to Rei and what a sheepish ending it was? I'll add an epilogue. I just wanted to end the story here. Tell me if you guys want one since i'm only cutting some study time to enjoy my hobby, hahaha, okay, I'm not a diligent student! Just joking.

Well it's really hard these few days... I'm going to try my best next week... I hope! sorry for failing to keep my promises. After out Case Presentation, I'll add the epilogue. Wish us luck. VIVA SAKUNOxRYOMA and slight (Rei as well)

"Can you focus on me? I'm crying here..." -_ Rei Smith_


	12. Epilogue

****Author's Note****

It took me awhile to get a fast paced Epilogue to explain the story behind Rei. What, it's been a year you say? Well, that's true, this is the first time that i have been inspired to write an epilogue for the story which is a much needed one because of the silent retreat of my OC, who has been bugging me for months to write about it. I hope i can explain his story like this.

**laughs**

**RCS PLEASE!**

Thanks for the support and effort for reading this story.

It's really a long one right? That's because i can't write short stories.

**~Himeru-chan~**

---

**Epilogue**

**His Story  
**

Rei trudged his bag over the waiting car outside the airport. He had his passport over his right hand and some couple of papers along with it. He had a cold Caramel Frap on the other, which he just bought after his plane landed. Good thing he never had the jitters after a long travel. His body was used to it. He had been travelling since he was 9 years old, joining competitions until he reached the point where he just travelled because he wanted to travel.

He missed this place, the cold, the people, the car and his mom who's been waving at him now for standing idly, looking left and right like a newbie tourist. He wished he could have stayed in Japan for a couple weeks more but he couldn't. He had to go home. Being there for awhile and knowing Sakuno and Echizen was enough. It made him realize a couple of things he wouldn't even dream of learning if he stayed here.

He had returned three days after the event in the camp.

The team had bid him farewell, gave him hugs and took their picture with him.

Sakuno gave him a small keychain which he had placed in the zipper of his tennis bag. He embraced her and whispered that he'll miss her when he goes back. Sakuno returned his hug which seemed to annoy the Seigaku tennis prince but didn't dare give a comment. _This once, _he whispered to himself. He smiled and allowed him to do what he wanted, provided he knew his limits. And Echizen knew the extension of his limits and he eyed him a couple of times to remind him of it.

In all fairness, going to Japan was worth it, he thought. He met the charming _Ryuzaki Sakuno_, the girl his mom had been trying to introduce to him months after he won the championships. He had met the _Echizen Ryoma,_ the brat, the one they called the prince of tennis in Seigaku who got into his nerves a couple of times. He met the Seigaku Team and played some rallies with them. The experience taught him how fulfilling,once again, playing tennis can be.

"All set?" Rei's mom with the same beautiful features he commonly had with her asked him while he got his seat belt over his chest. He looked at her and smiled. He couldn't have forgotten anything right? His heart? maybe. What a cheesy line, he chuckled at that thought.

"I think I am." His mom laughed a hearty one before she started the car and sped up a little after the ramp.

The travel was a quiet one. Rei mostly found comfort in the familiarity of the place once again. Nostalgically, he appreciated being back to this place. Disappontingly, he wanted to be somewhere else. The mixture of feelings made him tired. he lounged back at his seat and looked forward to going to sleep in his own bed.

"You're not your usual self," his mother commented. Rei laughed and assured her mother everything was okay. It should be okay, right?

He never had any unfinished business except of course the pending match he'll have with Echizen Ryoma. That and seeing Sakuno again was an unfinished business he'll complete when he returns for another visit to Japan. Echizen and Sakuno got their ending together. Seeing them together made him had the realize that disturbing them will just be a futile effort.

He knew it well… but still...

"So… Maria went to our house the other day and she wanted to talk to you…" Rei snapped his head towards her mother's and he knew she wasn't lying. She wouldn't benefit from the revelation otherwise. The pain gnawed its way back to his chest, making him unable to breath for a moment. The sharp pang of anger overwhelmed him over a second and out in the next.

Her name was taboo.

At least to him, after those months he won the championship.

"What did she say?" Rei asked, overly curious.

"Nothing. Whatever she wanted to say, she wanted to say to you… Not me." He laughed. Her mother made sense.

"Oh, mom…" the blonde lady pulled over a stop in the junction of a street with a steady red light sign on top of their heads. She looked over her son with an examining look that seemed to surprise the other.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. "You've been looking at me strangely over the last few weird minutes..."

"You know Rei, after you won that championships, you didn't want to hold your racket anymore. Why… I mean, what changed that?" Rei looked over his pockets, which seems to catch her mother's attention for a while now. There was a bulging circular object inside it and he knew immediately she was referring to tennis. He had a ball inside his jacket which he never allowed himself to have before. After Maria...

Maria, the one girl that looked at her like Sakuno did.

Beautiful girl, blonde with oceanic blue eyes, her demeanor of innocence attracted him immediately. The way she praised his tennis. The way she danced around him as he won. The way she kissed him on the nights before he played.

She told him that she admired him. That she loved the way he played tennis. He knew she loved him the same way he did. He was her woman at the same time that she was his man.

One night, she begged him to lose the fight.

He never knew why.

She never asked him for anything until now and that made him give way. He intended to lose for her sake. After she came, tennis only became second to him.

On the night of the finals, he saw Maria whispering words of love to another man, the man whom he had to give up his fight. The ideas of conspiracy shouted at his broken heart.

Maria was actually in love with somebody else, a man he knew he could beat in the way he played his tennis. The woes of those months were faked.

At the start of the final games, he allowed him to win over him for some time but as the game went on, he fought for himself, winning over his battles both inside and out, with one controversial point.

He never played tennis after that.

He never knew tennis could be twisted so much for one, stupid sake…

He loved her so much.

But he broke him as much.

What about the tennis ball?

He laughed. He never wanted to fight so much for himself. He had to admit that he loved tennis and in Japan, fighting so much using his skills made him complete again. How he loved tennis!

"Mother, I met somebody that I wanted to have a match with in the future." Something's changed all right. He knew it and his blood boils with the need to win again. Something he hadn't felt for quite a long time.

"I see… then I guess you'll be visiting the courts again." Rei Smith nodded. He'll be back, all right.

---

After a few months...

"You look different when you're not in braids." Echizen commented as he played with the girl's hair with his fingers. He had taken off her braids and combed the length of her long hair with his hands. He never knew why she had long hair, it bothered him a little. Seeing her now, with her braids off her head made it seem like it was right to keep her hairstyle like that. She was so damn cute that she should never let anyone else see that blushing face.

As usual, they were enjoying the afternoon on their usual place beside the courts. It took them quite a while to go out openly without getting embarrassed. In Ryoma's case, he didn't understand why Sakuno had to pretend they were not going out since he wanted everyone to know that she was already taken. She do get flushes of red when he touches her and he's happy she was still the same shy Sakuno who tries her very best to hide her face away from him. After a while, everyone knew. Ryoma will never have allowed it to go on like that for a long time anyway.

He enjoyed playing with her like this.

"Oh, Ryoma," she started. He big eyes widened as she called the teen beside her.

"I got a letter from Rei…" the prince frowned and got sakuno by her neck with his right arm for a forceful embrace. Hearing his name come out form her mouth made him twitch. The memories of his defeat gnaws him so much he had the urge to go to the courts and practice powerful serves to ease that feeling. At the same time, holding Sakuno like what he was doing right now makes him unable to do just that.

"Oh, the bird brain? What did he want?" he laughed as the woman squealed to get out but couldn't. In the end, she allowed herself to rest on the prince's solid body. Something, she still wasn't accustomed to.

"He said he wanted to visit us again." Ryoma's muscle tensed. The memory of him coming back seemed to threaten him for a moment. He searched the girl's eyes and licked it with his tongue.

"R-ryoma," Sakuno blushed a deep red. Unable to comprehend why he had to do that all of a sudden.

"I'll give him a good show." He whispered in her ear. Sakuno looked up and searched the prince's eyes and wondered what could have fired him up like this. Ryoma loved challenges and Rei, his name in the tennis world is undeniable. He was a man who loves tennis as much as Ryoma loves it.

She smiled at him and nodded. He knew what he meant. Sakuno was about to say something but before she could say anything, she saw a familiar figure looming behind eyes widened once more, her lips pursed to a readable "o" and she swallowed hard as she pointed at Ryoma's back.

"_Of course, you have to give me a good one. Ryoma, you should have not been slacking off, you know the deal."_

The familiarity of the voice caught them both in a state of shock. The way the man said all of this in English seemed to have been in a mocking tone. As Echizen looked back, he caught sight of the man and grinned. Rei was beside the tree, carrying his tennis bag over his shoulders. They both knew he just arrived from wherever he came from. He had a large smile on his face and only noticed Sakuno from beneath the man's possessive hold, which seemed to mind him.

"_About time you show your ass around." Ryoma replied sarcastically while holding Sakuno firmly in his arms._

"_Rei!" Sakuno shouted as she tried to release ryoma's hands around her but to no avail. She just smiled at him and waved a free hand._

"_Sakuno, I missed you." She laughed. _

"_I missed you too!" Rei laughed, kneeling to level his height for them both._

"_I didn't," Ryoma cut before Re could add another dramatic line in this overly long dramatic reunion, which seems to be getting on his nerves. Rei looked at him and smiled.  
_

"Echizen, let's have a match." The prince looked over the other prince , both burning with the same flaming desire to get on with it, jump inside the court and settle all the things they have between them. Man to man.

"Same conditions." Rei said. Echizen laughed but he nodded his reply smugly.

"Same conditions…"

The exchange of English words somehow confused Sakuno but the hold of Rei in her free hand and the kiss of her prince on her head made her realize the battle that was about to pursue, of which, she knew she will be the hearty price.

---FIN---

Haha, its been quick so I wouldn't know what you'll have to say if you dont give a feedback. so, tell me what you think? kk?? :)


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